Elijah

...but you return to your rightful place.

Katerina managed to escape again and Elijah immediately recognized the futility of following her. She could be anywhere in or outside of the city. He had no idea what to do with her anymore, now that he so foolishly let his intentions uncovered. He did not mean to be reckless, but… Actually, he had no idea how she noticed anything amiss. She must know him too well, and her mistrustful personality wouldn't help his case either. Perhaps he could have been more careful, but he had to give her some credit.

Now, he did not have the cure, neither the person who knew where it was hidden, nor could he be sure that it still existed. For what he knew, she could have given the real thing to that random vamp without him noticing, but he thought of it too late, and he missed his chance.

Since he left Mystic Falls, he acted like a completely different person: distracted, tense, hot-headed. He got drunk several times, he made all the wrong decisions… he drove Katerina away. He cannot continue like this. He had to recollect himself.

Maybe in New York, he would come to his senses. Maybe not, but he wasn't ready to rejoin his siblings.

He knew what his next step should be: face Klaus and tell him everything as soon as possible. Katerina stated that she wanted to make a deal, but after his… misbehavior? No, she would call him a traitor. It did not matter – he shook his head – she meant danger for his family now.

He obviously had to face Klaus, but he could not stand there as a wayward brother… He must get back in the game. Since he had nothing useful in his hands except for Kol's instructions, he must provide something he knew well – he must become powerful again, with all his allies lining up behind him.

He headed to New York with a newfound determination.

-x-x-

At first, he took care of his business matters.

"Are you leaving again?" his secretary asked. She looked sad. "Why?"

"I have responsibilities elsewhere," he told her vaguely. "I trust you enough to run this business without my constant presence," he compelled the girl, like he had all his directors. He trusted them, but men are sometimes weak, and a strong compulsion cannot hurt the business.

"Well, good luck for you, Mister," she smiled. "We are awaiting your return, and we are happy to help you any time you need us. Can I help with anything now?"

"No, thank you," he said, taking a seat and turning his back on her. He wanted to think. "But I will need you to organize my documents after I left."

He heard the girl exiting his office. He hoped they wouldn't connect his future absence to his assumed girlfriend. Maybe he should forbid gossiping, too.

He watched the image of the lively city for a few minute before making the necessary phone calls.

As Katerina was the key-player of the Silas-hunt, he had to find her again. She had enough experience to clear her track, so he didn't bother with finding her by himself.

He dialed a familiar number, and it rang four times when a woman picked it up.

"Good afternoon, this is Amir's Persians Company, how can I help you?"

"Hi Lucy, is that you there?" he answered to the familiar voice. "An old partner is here."

"Yes," Lucy answered cautiously.

"This is Ilya."

"Oh my God, Ilya, are you really?" she exclaimed. "How can I help you?"

"Is Don around?"

"He's out."

"No problem, I can work with you. Do you recall the project I cancelled a while ago?"

"Yes. We still have the files here, though. You said you found her?"

"I did. We parted ways just hours ago."

"I see. You want us to keep an eye on her again, am I right? No problem, sir. Can you share any recent detail with us?" she asked professionally.

"I wish I could, but I've lost track of her. I assume you are familiar with her preferences. As for a wild guess, I would pay special attention to a town called Mystic Falls, Virginia and please, inform me in the moment she appears there. Klaus is also there – don't be surprised. They might try and meet up; a lot is happening there nowadays."

"We will mark this town as a priority. Anything else important?"

"Nothing, apart from the usual details. Thanks, Lucy."

"It's nothing. We thank you for your continued trust in us. We'll be in touch." They both ended the call at the same time.

Well, one thing is done – Lucy and Don will take care of Katerina. The pair was running an underground supernatural private detective business. They were both vampires, Don owning a daylight ring, Lucy working during the nights and in the backstage. They were quite effective and steadfast in their loyalty to him. They weren't aware of his true identity as an Original, but they belonged to his bloodline – which meant they couldn't really betray him. He took care of it – witches helped him guarantee that his bloodline only consisted of worthy vampires.

He thought of Elena briefly. She was a vampire now. He promised her things which he couldn't keep, and now, she was a vampire. He understood that it was unavoidable in that environment, but he wished it could have been him who offered her to turn. Now, she belonged to his brother, but he can't brood over it now.

Maybe there is a spell to unbind her from her current bloodline… or something, but he needed to stop this moping about Elena now, even if he found her truly worthy of his bloodline.

-x-x-

Now that the Katerina case was in good hands, Elijah decided to collect all the information he needed about Silas.

The witch only answered his fifth call, half past midnight. He wondered if she owned that cell phone or she only gave him a random number, but she stated she had a job at the evenings.

He did not want to know.

"I can give you a real job again," he offered. Anouk stayed silent on the other end.

"What kind of job?"

"Various. Full-time. Almost like before," he said.

She considered it long.

"I don't know, Elijah. I'm older now, I want to settle. I don't know if I want to work for you again."

Elijah was disappointed, but he understood. He too wanted to settle and live a complete life - only he could not quit being an Original Vampire and Eldest of the Siblings. It bound him for eternity. Always and Forever.

"Are you in a great need?" she asked.

"Kind of."

"I can help you out for a couple of weeks, but not longer. I have acquaintances, I can recommend you someone like me," she offered.

"It is very kind of you, but I have an army of witches and not one of them is anything like you," he sighed.

"I got out for a reason, you know," Anouk replied, not caring to hide her annoyance. "Two weeks. Not a second more, am I understood?"

"Yes, thank you," Elijah replied with a content smile. "Our business will be in a town called Mystic Falls, but I am still in New York. Let me know when and where I shall pick you up."

-x-x-

Before his self-deprecating or Elena-related thoughts could return, he decided to do something useful. Until he gets word on either Katerina's whereabouts or the arrival of the witch, he should find information about the people he tried to left behind. (Thank God his sister lived her life on Facebook these days.) His siblings were wreaking havoc, turning on each other – and practically everyone available. The 'gang' had fallen apart. None of them looked like a useful ally, not with their motives and allegiances so tangled up. He tried to draw up a diagram, but it seemed everyone was moving in completely different dimensions.

Klaus' part proved to be the easiest to define, as always. He wanted Elena's blood to make a hybrid army.

All the others created a complete chaos on his paper, but all strings seemed to be attached to Elena. He needed to get a hold on Elena, to ask her what she wanted. He would help her – yes, it was a poor excuse to make up for every time he wronged her. Still. He stopped his musings about Elena before he got too deep again; she was a fix point, he would stand by her, even if she wants nothing to do with him (which wouldn't surprise him at all). Still, she deserved a shield from those selfish, destructive idiots.

The only one who fit nowhere in the picture was the Bennett witch. He considered her dangerous, since she seemed to follow a separate agenda, like she had quit the group. He put a big interrogation mark beside her name. Once he saw her as a great opportunity, but now he realized that she lacked guidance – if she steered down on a dark path, she should be gently put down.

However, Rebekah seemed to be another dark horse. She loathed and despised Elena. Did she intend to sabotage? That would be in-character; he decided. Or perhaps she had a childish row with Klaus. Whatever; Rebekah rarely concerned herself with serious matters.

Now, where should he stand? With Elena, of course, but he also had to make other alliances.

In addition, where would Katerina fit in?

An awaited phone call eased his mood for a short while.

"Hi, Elijah, can you speak now?" He barely raised an eyebrow at her impossible timing – it must be around 3 a.m. in Seattle – but Anouk sounded worried.

"I'm at the airport, trying to catch a plane. I hope I don't have to travel through several countries, it would be less fun than the last time," she babbled. She was incredible, irresponsible, yet classy.

"I can send a private jet for you."

"No, it would be late. I looked into the case you told me about."

"I didn't tell you anything," he frowned.

"you mentioned that town. I googled it. I'm in, Elijah, we will agree on a high payment later, but it's life or death."

"Anouk, what did you find?" he asked patiently, like speaking to a child. He knew Silas worried the witches.

"Someone's doing an expression triangle at the area. You should've mentioned that first, then I wouldn't waste your time." Elijah fell silent. Anouk got bored waiting for an answer.

"You didn't know that. I can't believe it, what happened to you?"

"Anouk, I'm not there. I'm in NY, so I couldn't know. I can't keep an eye everywhere by myself."

"Right. Why are you not there, then, if the problem's there?!" She sounded angry, somewhat hysterical, too.

"Calm down, please, breathe deep etc."

"Thanks, but I cannot calm down. Tell me what you know. Everything."

He explained what he knew. "So," he summarized, „I'm pretty sure that it is the Bennett witch."

At least, now, he knew how to deal with her. Regrettable, but unavoidable.

"Yes, yes. It must be her. I will go there. I know what and where should happen, but please, hurry. I might need you there."

Anouk hung up.

-x-x-

When he felt he knew more than enough detail of the going-ons in Mystic Falls and he had yet to got a call about Katerina, he left the building for a snack. He walked on streets he rarely visited to avoid every possible familiar face. Still, his nerves tensed every time a brunette came along, as if Katerina would be careless enough to run into him accidentally. Logic dictated that he should just enjoy the hunt right now, yet, he knew he was looking for Katerina in strangers who just caught a cab, or sat on a bench waiting for someone or was getting a new haircut in a shiny hair salon.

He resigned to go crazy when he believed to see Damon Salvatore's car parked on a street. Why would he come here? Thankfully, his phone rang again.

"Yes," he scoffed.

"Oh, hoh, Ilya, sounds frustrated." A well-known jovial voice spoke.

"Don." Elijah massaged his forehead. He didn't mean to snap at Don, he knew they couldn't find such a quick trail. "Is there any progress?"

"Actually, there is. We found her. Almost. She's protecting herself more and more creatively."

"Specify."

"We can't follow her, because she erases her from the memory of everyone she meets."

"That's not very useful."

"We can follow the lack of her trace. I can also give you a phone number. A truck driver reported that he lost his phone, but he couldn't remember his number or how it looked like. None of his previous contacts could reach the number. I tracked down his route, and I found suspicious circumstances in a parking lot where he stopped, so it might be her. I did not check; she would get rid of it if she feels threatened, but you may try calling her. Can you write?"

Elijah felt a pleasurable wave running through him – the feeling of power returned; he had a trail, he had information, he would rise as the winner of this situation. Something told him she would answer his call, and he knew he would shred the lover act and make it strictly business.

Katerina could be a powerful ally, but a dangerous friend – he would have to tread lightly and somehow convince her about complete honesty.

Sometimes, he wished there would be another of him – or, at least he had someone by his side as powerful as him, yet completely loyal.

That latter would be Kol now. Too bad he was dead because of his ignorance.