‚Where is my Goddamn car?' Damon frantically yelled on top of his lungs, standing in the empty garage. Stefan was standing in the doorway, looking mildly amused. Trying to keep as much satisfaction as he could out of his voice he turned and said.
'Caroline was here earlier.'
'Caroline doesn't care for cars.' Damon spat, narrowing his eyes to slits, looking around for clues.
'Yeah. But I forgot to mention Rebekah was with her.' Stefan casually added, already walking away. For a second Damon simply stared after him in something akin to disbelief.
'THAT BITCH!' Stefan heard him curse and he couldn't help but smirk. After losing Elena to Damon and turning out to be Silas's doppelganger, he appreciated every moment of joy he could get. Seeing Damon upset certainly ranked high on the list of what made him joyful.
'Wohooo!' Caroline squealed with delight as Rebekah drove the car in a wild frenzy over the highway.
'Living the dream' Rebekah nodded. 'So what do you wanna do first?' She asked smiling.
'I don't know.' The blonde shrugged 'What do you wanna do?' She retorted. The original vampire flashed her a toothy smile.
'Oh I know exactly what we are going to do.'
Caroline didn't know why, but she could only laugh. This was going to be fun!
'Stefan, I need to borrow your car.' Damon called out while slamming his fingers into the keyboard. The GPS device he had installed in his car must still be active. He'll find those idiotic narcissistic egomaniac bitches in heels and show them exactly why nobody ever, ever even touched his car.
'I swear if there is so much as a scratch on it, I'll burn them alive. I don't care if Rebekah is immortal. It'll still hurt like hell.' He murmured to himself while typing in codes and an interminable list of identification numbers to track down his car.
He reached for his phone and dialed Caroline's number again.
Hi, this is Caroline, leave a…
Damon cursed under his breath as he threw the phone on the bed behind him.
'Stefan!' He shouted again 'Get me your keys. Now!'
'No need to yell. I can hear you just fine.' Damon looked over his shoulder to see Stefan standing in the door. This time the younger sibling couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
'Haha laugh it up.' Damon said fuming. 'Give me your keys.'
'No.' Stefan simply said, shoving his hands into his pockets. 'My car means as much to me as yours does to you. Find someone else to help you out with this one.' He turned and left his older brother, ignoring the murderous glance he shot him.
'I can't believe it. I simply cannot believe it!' Caroline kept repeating over and over. 'I can't believe you brought me to Vegas!' It was late in the afternoon and the sun's fading rays were starting to get outshone by the multicolored lights blinking throughout the city.
'I promised you an unforgettable trip, didn't I?' Rebekah smiled sweetly.
Something buzzed, Caroline dug out her phone from her bag and checked the screen.
'Damon again. He's called me 15 times in the last five minutes.' She gave the other blonde an exasperated look.
Rebekah shrugged.
'Who cares? Turn your phone off. We are here to have fun. Not to worry about Mystic Falls problems. Tonight, it is just us, Vegas and Tequila. Lots of Tequila.' She gave Caroline a meaningful look paired with a devilish grin and turned at a street corner into a high end part of town. She drove directly to one of the five star casinos and parked the car with a loud screech in front of the entrance.
'Dominic' She nodded to one of the valets hurrying over 'Nice to see you again.'
'Welcome Miss Michaelson.' The skinny valet hurriedly bowed and took the keys Rebekah held out to him. 'It is a great honor to have you with us again.'
Caroline shot her partner in crime an impressed look mouthing 'nice' and Rebekah, while feigning indifference, couldn't help but be pleased with herself.
'Miss Michaelson.' The receptionist waved upon seeing her. 'What a surprise. Why didn't you call ahead, we would have had all the arrangements ready by your arrival. Miss' He nodded towards Caroline who inclined her head, graciously accepting the fact that she had been acknowledged. 'Your rooms are of course available to you' the man hurriedly added 'and if you would please make yourself comfortable in the resort part of the hotel, I shall send someone over once preparations are done.'
'Thank you.' Rebekah was clearly enjoying the groveling as she dismissed the man with a flick of her hand. Her heels clicked over the waxed floors as she led Caroline to the bar where another flick of her hand summoned the barkeep.
'Mix us your best cocktail.' She commanded and the lean woman mumbled a muffled 'certainly' before leaving the two women to observe the scenery outside the hotel. Finally Caroline's curiosity won over her ladylike composure.
'Okay. What is up with you and this hotel?' She leaned forward, excitement glinting in her eyes. The original vampire gave her a knowing smile and settled into the sofa.
She tossed her hair back. 'Why have the power to compel people if I can't use it to my advantage?'
'The entire staff is compelled?' Caroline stated while sipping at the cocktail the barkeep had set down next to her. It was sweet and sour and brimful of different types of alcohol none of which she could identify. Caroline loved it.
'They'll do whatever I tell them to do.' The other blonde smiled. She had missed this. The glamour, the relaxed lifestyle, the fact that people fulfilled her every wish… Nick had been anything but forthcoming in this regard and her blood boiled just thinking about her brother treating her like she was a kind of accessory to his power. Not anymore. He could rot in New Orleans for all she cared. She wouldn't go down there even if that monster baby he was having turned out to be actually a hybrid. She was torn out of her vengeful reverie by the sound of her companion's bubbling voice.
'Then how about we get the party started around here?' Caroline's eyes twinkled with delight as she finished talking. Rebekah felt the anticipation of a good night catching on. She downed her drink and got to her feet, fishing the car keys out of her pocket. 'Let's do this!'
The rest of the night went by in a crazy haze. Drink after drink, bar after bar, club after club, party after party. The list of events the two had been to, went on and on. When they finally stumbled through the front door of the hotel and were escorted to their room they fell into the cushioned beds without so much as a word to each other. Sleep took them far away in an instant and the valet darkened the room so that the crown of the sun, announcing the arrival of dawn couldn't wake the quietly slumbering girls.
You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies…
The jingle of Caroline's mobile phone kept getting steadily louder while it buzzed away on the table. A long sigh came from one of the beds and a groan from the other. The tune tirelessly played on repeat until Rebekah couldn't take it anymore.
'Make it stop!' She growled and flung a pillow in the general direction of the sound.
'On it.' Came the croaking voice of Caroline from somewhere in the dark while she crawled towards the table on all fours and finally managed to get a look at the screen.
'Damon again.' She pressed the red button on her phone and wondered just when she had switched it back on again. It must have been during the night, but why? Her curiosity was peaked and Caroline scrolled through calls and texts she had received or sent.
'I suppose there is no going back to sleep now.' Rebekah yawned and got up. The slight light filtering through from underneath the door and around the edges of windows was enough to outline her slender silhouette while she stretched.
'I must have given my phone number to a dozen people while drunk…' Caroline murmured under her breath scrolling through the seemingly infinite list of numbers she didn't recognize. When she came to the texts her mind seemed to short circuit.
'Rebekah!' She called out to the original vampire who just disappeared into the shower. 'We have a problem.'
'Can it wait?' Came they annoyed answer over the sound of running water, 'I'm trying to regain a semblance of normality through a well-deserved hot shower!'
'No it can't wait!' Caroline got to her feet, ignoring Rebekah's exasperated long drawn sigh and pulled up the blinds. It felt as if she needed to see clearly in order to see clearly in her mind but it wasn't helping. The sun was already high on the horizon. It was clearly after noon and Caroline had no idea how to work this out.
'What is so important?' The blonde original stalked out of the shower in a towel, wrapping her hair in another one.
'I sold Damon's car.' The composed and controlled face of the one time winner of Miss Mystic Falls faltered and panic crept over her features as she finally blurted out what she had understood after reading her texts. Rebekah stared at her for a second then burst out laughing.
'How much did they give you?' She laughed and earned a thundering glance.
'This isn't funny!' Caroline retorted, with a shrill note in her voice.
'Oh please,' The youngest Michaelson tried forcing seriousness into her voice while she was clearly still grinning and giggling. 'You have the buyer's number don't you? We'll buy it back. No need to panic. We are vampires remember? There is no one we can't compel to bow to our will.' This said she dialed room service and ordered a valet and champagne breakfast to their room.
Rebekah's confidence calmed Caroline down but she still had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Only when the valet had arrived and was compelled to find out everything he could about the buyer via his number did the blonde relax somewhat and decide she desperately needed a shower too.
An hour later the two women were seated on the balcony of their suite, overlooking Las Vegas, enjoying a wide range of alcohol and coffee before finally getting to the sustaining part of the meal: blood of various types. Rebekah had indulged her friend's aversion to live feeding and was sipping on a tall glass of O negative when the valet knocked on the door.
'Come in.' The vampire said and a young face appeared at the door.
'You wanted me to come up immediately after I had found information on the phone number, Miss?' The shy voice fit the unseemly young man whose nervous demeanor made him twitch his fingers or his head every now and then as if she he was afraid of his own shadow.
'Yes.' Rebekah said and the valet quickly related what he had found out. Caroline frowned when the supposed buyer turned out to be a wealthy businessman and playboy, apparently notorious across town, but her frown deepened when she saw her companion's expression at the mention of his name.
'DiMarco.' Caroline said it again when the valet had left. 'This is either the biggest cliché ever, or he had a boring name and changed it to make it sound more Italian and thus willingly became a cliché.' She tried laughing but the original vampire's mood had suddenly shifted. Rebekah set down her blood and shot Caroline an unamused glance.
'Roberto DiMarco is his real name, however, his behavior is a lot less funny than his name suggests, I can promise you that. If he really has our car, we won't get it back. At least not legally.'
'But… what can we do? Stealing Damon's car was supposed to be a stupid joke! If we can't bring it back…?'
'It is a matter of pride.' Rebekah stated simply and Caroline nodded. 'So one of DiMarco's henchmen bought it either for himself or for him. What we need to do is get that car out of there before that madman can get attached to it.'
Silence settled over the room. Finally Caroline spoke.
'How do you even know him?'
Another moment of silence. Too long, too loaded. Something was definitely wrong.
'I ran into him once or twice while I was in Vegas.' Came the reluctant answer. 'It never ended well.'
Caroline realized this was a sensitive topic and didn't push further.
He is aware of supernatural creatures so compelling is off the table.' Rebekah continued. 'We need to do something a lot more basic.' The original vampire had started pacing. Her expression was carefully layered, not to express the slightest shift in emotion as she spoke the next sentence.
'We have to steal it back.'
Caroline's jaw dropped.
'Are you serious? You are telling me this man is dangerous and aware of supernatural creatures and you still want me to waltz into his probably very protected home to get a car back?' Her voice became higher and higher and she spoke and gestured but Rebekah swatted her worries aside.
'Damon will get his car back. We are going to get it back. This is the only way. We are two powerful women, what could go wrong?'
Caroline held up both hands in resignation and leaned back on the couch.
'Alright, here is how we are going to do it…' Rebekah started and Caroline's face turned more and more hysterical as the plan unfolded.
'Hi.' A cute blonde girl appeared next to the two bulky guards outside of a gigantic mansion.
She observed their reaction to her and noted with satisfaction that her low cut shirt, high riding skirt and winning smile had definitely gotten their attention.
'I was kind of wondering if you could help me…' She raised surreal blue eyes at them and smiled just enough to show off white pearly teeth against ruby red lips.
'Sure.' One of them said, cracking a smile. 'Watcha need little lady?'
Attention diverted, Caroline thought, hoping Rebekah wasn't watching somewhere to witness her embarrassment. Their plan was messy, sketchy and dangerous at best. She was supposed to divert these goons by playing cute and dumb and then create a scene once they've let her into the garden of the house. Caroline wasn't sure she could be as confident in her charms as Rebekah seemed to be but she was giving it her all.
Meanwhile, the original vampire had snuck around the compound, looking for the garages. After finding them she got into position and rethought her strategy. If she remembered correctly then Roberto had all they keys to his cars stored in the garage with the cars.
She snorted inwardly. Too cocky to believe someone might stage a coup. Who did that remind her of? She swatted away any useless thoughts about her brother. Why did she keep thinking about him?
Suddenly she heard an explosion. The signal, she thought and waited long enough for the few guards to look around bewildered, then run to the resort any issue that might have arisen in the front garden.
'Good job Caroline.' Rebekah smiled despite herself and in a flash entered the house through the backdoor someone opened. The only thing the person might have felt was a draft. She hurriedly entered the garage and looked for the keys first. True enough, there were five rows of car keys. She ground her teeth and set to work. After what seemed like eternity she found the keys, when another explosion shook the garage. Gunfire had already started a while back and Rebekah was hoping that their plan hadn't cost Caroline her life. She took the keys from the hook and after a second, pulled out a sheet of paper and pinned it on the board instead. All she had to do now was locating the car, which wasn't too difficult. She clicked the open button enough times to finally hear the familiar sound of car doors unlocking and orange flash lighting up. While flashing to the car, she opened the garage door and the outer gate, swung herself inside Damon's pride and joy, noticing dimly that something was different, and ignited the engine. She floored the gas pedal and swerved out of the badly lit underground facility. She turned on to the street with screeching tires and pressed a button. A second later the street behind her exploded in crimson and white sparks. Rebekah turned another street corner, passing by the front gate of the estate, never slowing down until she reached a red light. Her pulse was racing while a strange smile played around her lips. She looked in the rearview mirror to see people running out into the street, waving, yelling, stumbling and falling.
The next thing she knew someone slumped down on the passenger seat next to her and slammed the door shut.
'Since when do you respect red lights?' Caroline raised an eyebrow at her friend. Rebekah burst out laughing.
'See I told you it would be fun!' She commented while Caroline rolled her eyes and tried to pull the skirt to a more respectable length. Rebekah noted with some relief that her friend seemed to be disheveled but otherwise unharmed.
'Oh yeah. Fun.' Caroline pouted. 'The prospect of being riddled with holes wasn't fun.' She huffed and looked around, suddenly aware of something.
'Hmm…' She frowned.
'What?' Rebekah asked.
'Something is different.' Both blondes looked around the interior of the car and it didn't take them long to notice what it was exactly.
Every single surface in the car was covered with the initials RDM. It hadn't even taken the crime lord a day to appropriate his new car. Caroline murmured something about ego under her breath while Rebekah only grinned.
'Damon will love this.' She said and they both burst out laughing.
The ride home was swift and Rebekah and Caroline easily settled into a casual chattering mood once they had left Las Vegas, DiMarco and any sign of danger behind. Only at one point did Caroline's face betray some sort of panic.
'What is it?' Rebekah questioned, surprised.
'Well what do you think will happen when DiMarco finds out we have stolen his car?' Caroline asked, worried. 'I suppose he doesn't just have firepower and goons at his disposal but also supernatural hit men?'
To her surprise, Rebekah gave her a knowing little smile.
'Don't worry. I took care of that.'
'How so?' Caroline wondered.
'I left him a note on behalf of my oh so generous brother who apparently put me up to this as payback for the last time they met.'
Caroline's eyes widened.
'Which means, even if he comes after someone; he'll go after Klaus instead! Rebekah, you are a genius!' The girl shrieked, excited, clapping her hands together.
'I have my moments.' The youngest Michaelson smiled and let the wind ruffle her hair.
When they approached Mystic Falls Caroline did remember to call Stefan to find out if the air was clear.
'So wait, you are telling me he isn't home right now?' Caroline asked back, just to be sure.
'No.' Stefan's voice sounded amused, even over the phone. 'He actually left to look for you guys.'
'Thanks!' Caroline hung up and Rebekah shrugged when she turned to her.
'Our luck I suppose.'
They rolled into Mystic Falls, triumphant, unbeknownst to everyone around them. When they left the car in the garage at the Salvatore mansion Caroline and Rebekah hugged. Who knew they could get this close? Both had craved a sense of normality and friendship. As unlikely as the pair might have been at first, they were just two girls wanting to have fun, wanting to feel alive. When Stefan offered to drive then home, Rebekah declined. She would find her way home, thank you. The younger vampires nodded and left her. Now there was only one thing left to do.
Stefan's car turned out of the yard when Rebekah dialed a number on her phone. Somewhere far away, another phone was ringing.
'Finally!' Damon all but growled into his phone. 'Where the hell are you?'
'Hello Damon.' Rebekah said pleasantly.
'Shut up and tell me where you are!' The older Salvatore brother raged.
A moment of silence.
'Mystic Falls.' Rebekah's voice dripped with sweetness.
'What…?' Damon got out but the original vampire had already hung up. He looked at his phone, dumbfounded for a second, then looked up. The skyscrapers, wide lanes, the noise, the lights and the millions of people crowding the streets whirled around him while for a moment he was at a loss for words. Then passersby bumped into him and Damon's eyes flashed black.
'This isn't over.' He hissed before turning his back on the buzzing life of Las Vegas.
