A/N: haha so I see people weren't too pleased with Damon's disappearance! Since I'll be wrapping up this fic soon, this chapter delves straight into solving a lot of the mystery ;)

Damon half-heartedly tugged at the ropes binding his wrists, but the rough material only chafed against his already raw skin and he inwardly winced.

"Any luck over there?" Lexi called to him, and he threw her a disparaging look. His gaze lingered on the handcuffs around her wrists, which were locked around a metal railing. Even though she was halfway across the room, he could still see the blood on her hands from her efforts to escape.

He bit back a groan as he looked around the basement of The Grill. There wasn't a single weapon within reasonable distance. "We're screwed, aren't we?"

"It ain't over till it's over, is what I always say."

Damon raised an eyebrow at her, beginning to get an inkling that perhaps she hadn't been honest with him about who she was. "Let me guess," he mused as he made a show of looking her over, "You're undercover."

The corner of Lexi's mouth lifted in a smile, "You've been watching too many detective movies, Mr. Salvatore."

"So I'm wrong?" he pressed, and was gratified when she didn't answer his question. Instead, she tilted her head and studied him for a moment, as though deciding if he was trustworthy enough to hear the truth. "Come on, Lexi," he cajoled, gesturing to their current predicament, "Look at where we are…I deserve to hear this story, don't you think?" He flashed her his signature grin, and she shook her head at him. He was relieved, however, to see that she looked vaguely amused.

"Ever the charmer, Damon Salvatore." There was a clink as she pulled at her handcuffs again, and she sighed as they didn't budge. Damon couldn't help the admiration that flitted across his face when he noticed she didn't show any signs of pain as her bloodied wrists shifted.

"I can be charming when I want to be."

"I've noticed," she said dryly. Then she straightened and shrugged, though her motions were hindered by the handcuffs. "I'm with the DEA. Do you know what that is?"

"Drug enforcement," Damon said slowly, his mind whirling. So, Alaric had been right. He looked at her curiously, "What are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

"I think you know."

"Every town has its issues."

"Sure," Lexi agreed, "Though you have to admit that three deaths is cause for alarm, yes?"

"Three?" Damon could feel a sense of panic rising, "Did something else happen? Is Elena—"

"No," she assured him quickly, "I was merely referring to Vicki Donovan, Jeremy Gilbert, and of course Anna…"

"Jeremy isn't dead."

Lexi leveled him a look, "But he tried to commit suicide…and then he was kidnapped."

Damon stared at her unsmilingly, "So were we."

"Speaking of which, any chance you got a good look at the guy who knocked you out?"

"Nope," Damon responded, popping the 'p' unnecessarily. "One minute I was pouring a drink, and the next minute I'm tied up in this damn basement."

"At least we know where we are," Lexi said encouragingly, "That's a good sign."

"Is it?"

She nodded, "If we know where we are, then odds are that someone else will figure it out too."

"Oh yeah, if we don't die first of course…" Damon leaned back against the wall and glanced at Lexi, "So, what's the story here? What are those pesky little Mikealsens up to?"

"Perhaps we should start at the beginning," Lexi mused, contemplating. "I know your brother goes to Mystic Academy, but you know several people that attend the public high school, correct?"

"Three of my employees," Damon nodded, frowning as he wondered where this line of questioning was going. "Elena, and her two friends Caroline and Matt."

"Have they ever spoken to you about a teacher at the high school named Andie Starr?"

He paused, distinctly remembering both Elena and Caroline's attitudes about that particular teacher. "Yes, actually. Their History teacher, I believe. I've heard that she isn't very fair…"

"She's notorious for giving preferential treatment to students on the football team," Lexi supplied, glancing up at him to note his reaction to her next statement. "Especially to Tyler and Mason Lockwood."

"Ah, the mayor's prodigal sons."

Lexi gave him a slightly ironic smile, "If I wasn't handcuffed to this pole, then this would be the part where I lean in to whisper in your ear conspiratorially."

Damon's eyebrows shot up, "Are you saying the mayor is involved in all this somehow?"

"Where do you think Mayor Lockwood got all that money to run his campaign?"

"The Lockwoods have always been one of the richest families in Mystic Falls...What are you getting at?" When Lexi merely continued gazing at him, he scoffed in disbelief. "Drug money? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Mayor Lockwood has long been aware of the drug problem at the high school—"

"High school?" Damon hissed, "As in, Elena's school?"

Lexi gave him a strange look, looking askance at why he hadn't put the pieces together already. "Most of the players on the football team…they're in charge of distributing the drugs to the student body. Andie collects the money, and she hands over a sizeable portion to the mayor."

"WHAT? How the fuck is the mayor even connected to Andie?"

"Language," Lexi admonished, before smirking at him, "They're sleeping together."

Damon scowled, "Of course they are."

"Vicki Donovan was sort of dating Tyler Lockwood before she died, wasn't she?"

"I have no idea."

"We believe he was supplying her with the drugs…that is, until the day she got arrested. She was forced to enter rehab, where she visited with a therapist named Rose."

Damon narrowed his eyes, fully paying attention now. "Yes, that was Jeremy's therapist as well. My private investigator already suspected her of being involved in this cover-up."

Lexi shook her head vehemently, "No, Rose is one of the good guys."

"Excuse me?"

"She works with us…she's been trying to get to the bottom of this drug operation for a while. Rose offered Vicki a deal to give us information about the mayor and Andie…"

Damon suddenly remembered how Vicki had turned her life around after rehab—until the day she had met a fatal overdose. "They found out," he breathed, "And they killed her."

"Well, there's no solid proof of that," Lexi pursed her lips, "But yes, that's what we believe happened."

"I almost don't want to ask," Damon said hesitantly, "But Jeremy?"

"We have reason to believe he received his drug supply from Matt Donovan."

Damon laughed aloud at that, "Now that's where you're wrong. Matt is too much of a stickler for the rules. He would never sell."

"Oh really?" Lexi tilted her head at him, "Didn't his father leave their family with nothing after the divorce? And his mother couldn't hold onto a steady job because of her drinking? They were going to lose their home, Damon."

The grin slid off his face as he noted the seriousness in her tone. "What, so he decided to sell to get some quick cash? He would never do that—especially not to Jeremy. He's been dating the kid's sister, for Christ's sakes!"

"Jeremy was arrested several times," Lexi went on as though she hadn't heard him, "And during the most recent time, he was approached by Elijah Mikealsen, one of the officers at the station—"

"I know who he is," Damon interrupted with a frown, "What did Elijah want from him?"

"The same thing that Rose wanted."

"No, the Mikealsens aren't—"

"The Mystic Falls PD has been working closely with the DEA on this matter," she spoke over him, "And Elijah wanted nothing more than to take the mayor down."

"But he dated Rose," Damon sputtered incredulously, "I thought…"

"Yes, this investigation is how they met. But that's beside the point," Lexi sighed, looking saddened. "Once Jeremy quit taking the drugs, he was watched very closely by the mayor and his people. I guess they got suspicious about Jeremy blowing the lid on their whole operation. They tried to kill him, and make it look like a suicide." She paused and then added, "Obviously, they failed. Rose and Elijah decided the safest place for Jeremy would be within the confines of the rehab center, where he would be under constant watch."

"But he was kidnapped!" Damon burst out angrily, "Or do you have an explanation for that too?"

Lexi shook her head, "His kidnapping is a direct result of the investigation into Anna's murder."

He stiffened, "So then you know who killed her?"

She answered without preamble, "Without a doubt, it was Klaus Mikealsen."

Damon gaped at her before recovering his bearings, "But you just told me that the Mikealsens were on our side!"

"Elijah and Rebekah have been extremely valuable to the DEA, as has been their brother, Finn. I don't know if your P.I. dug back far enough, but Finn was the lawyer that got Vicki's sentence reduced to just community service and mandatory rehab."

"Yes," Damon replied testily, "Alaric was able to find that information. Now back to this Klaus thing—"

"Klaus and the other Mikealsen brother, Cole…well, I guess you could call them the bad seeds in the family."

"Why do you think they're involved?"

Lexi shifted, growing restless. "Anna went to visit Jeremy two days before she was killed, did you know that?"

Damon stared at her in surprise. "She visited him at the rehab center? No, I didn't know that…she never said anything to anyone. She never even told Elena that, come to think of it."

"We believe she went there under Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood's orders. They had to know if Jeremy was going to spill the beans to anyone, but they couldn't call suspicion onto themselves…"

"And what did Jeremy tell her?"

Lexi glanced at him briefly, "We don't know how much he told her, but it was enough to get her killed. She probably confided in her boyfriend, Cole, not knowing that Klaus was involved."

"Cole told Klaus, and then Klaus…"

"Murdered her to keep her mouth shut, yes. She knew too much."

Damon let the ominous sentence hang in the air between them, letting the silence grow as he tried to comprehend even an ounce of what he had learned in the past twenty minutes. "Did Elijah and Rebekah know what Klaus was up to?"

"They're the ones that told me they suspected his involvement, but exposing Klaus as a double agent was tricky. These past couple of weeks couldn't have been easy on him…Elijah and Rebekah were both determined to get to the bottom of this case, and he had to go along with it. I imagine that's why he tried to cast suspicion on Matt Donovan. I heard that they dragged him in for questioning when his past with Anna was revealed?"

"Yeah, they did," Damon responded distractedly, another thought having had just occurred to him. "Hold on just a second—exactly who kidnapped Jeremy? Alaric said that whoever did the kidnapping had to have inside help."

"Most likely Klaus and Cole…and I'm guessing Rose was the 'inside help' you're referring to."

Damon could feel a headache coming on, "You just said that Rose was working with the DEA!"

"Yes, she was," Lexi agreed, "But Klaus threatened to kill Elijah if Rose didn't help him. And she still loved…or cared…about him. So, she had to go along with it."

"Alright, I can buy that," Damon said grimly, "But…" He fell silent at the sudden creak from near the top of the staircase, and he twisted his head around. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

The unmistakable sound of a door swinging open.

Then footsteps.

Damon stared in apprehension at the staircase, waiting until the footsteps came close enough to reveal...

"Well, well," Klaus stepped into the basement, an insane grin flitting across his features. "Looks like you've heard the whole story now, haven't you, Damon Salvatore?"

"Let us go, Klaus!" Lexi shouted at him, struggling against her handcuffs once again. "You've already killed once, do you really want—"

"Yes," Klaus said easily, walking closer to them. In the semi-darkness, his eyes glinted, "So, I really have nothing left to lose, do I?"

Upstairs

"Thank god he didn't see us," Caroline whispered shakily to Stefan. They were crouched in a dark corner behind the bar, and had been for the past forty minutes. "What do we do now?"

Stefan lifted a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet, and he hastily dialed Alaric's number into his phone. "Hey," he said in an undertone, "Were you able to record all that? The confession and everything?"

"Got it," Alaric's reply was immediate, "I'm out in the parking lot. You two need to get out of there, NOW."

"I'll send Caroline out," Stefan glanced at the blonde next to him, "But I'm not leaving."

"Stefan, you listen to me right now," Alaric growled, sounding enraged, "You're only going to get yourself killed. Get out before Klaus notices that you two are still in there!"

"This is my brother we're talking about," Stefan responded shortly, "I'm not leaving him behind."

"The cops are on their way—"

"We've all heard that one before," he hung up his phone and shoved it into his pocket before turning to look at Caroline. "Look at me," he said softly, inching closer to her so that he could place his hands on her shoulders. "Alaric is waiting outside. I need you to run to the door as fast you can and get into his car, alright? Wait for the cops, then tell them what's going on here, and..." He trailed off in annoyance, "Why are you shaking your head at me?'

"If you think I'm letting you go down there by yourself, then you're crazy," she stated, raising her chin defiantly. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Ric," Stefan hissed, "Damon is down there, and I'm not abandoning him to deal with Klaus on his own!"

Caroline nodded and gave him a small smile, "I understand. He's your brother."

He nearly sighed in relief, "Great, so I'll count to three then I want you to run towards...why are you looking at me like that?"

"He's your brother," she repeated, and raised herself slightly so that she could open the nearest drawer. She rummaged within the contents for a few seconds, muttering to herself until she found what she was looking for. "Aha, here it is," she turned to Stefan, and he was taken aback to see her holding a gun. "So," she squared her shoulders, "What's the plan?"