...

When exhaustion took over, both Bonnie and Enzo eventually fell asleep within minutes of laying down in the musty straw, arms around each other.

Only when dawn was already beginning to light up the sky, awakening the city, did Bonnie wake up again with a start, quickly tugging at Enzo.

Shooting upright, he stared at her wide-eyed. "Shit," he cursed, wiping a hand over his face when his senses had come back completely, and he quickly moved to get up, grabbing his clothes. "Shouldn't have fallen asleep like that. The hell was I thinking? We should have stayed up to make sure—"

"Enzo." With a mild expression Bonnie firmly grabbed his arm to make him stop and look at her. "We were exhausted. We haven't slept properly in days," she reminded him, raising her eyebrows pointedly, which only made him scoff.

"I'm a soldier with years of training. I was made to go through this and function. Not fall asleep when I should be constantly vigilant. We could have easily been detected. It's a freaking miracle nothing happened and we're still free."

She looked at him half amused. "You never cut yourself any slack, do you? I guess then I should apologize, too, because I fell asleep even before you did."

"You're not a soldier. I don't blame you. The last few weeks - months - have been such a strain for you."

She chuckled, incredulously. "Are you even listening to yourself? Just because you're a soldier doesn't mean you can endure pain and exhaustion endlessly, it doesn't mean you can go without sleep. You're a human being, just like me, Enzo. You're easy on me, so be easy on yourself, too." She gazed at him, smiling at his resigned expression when he slumped his shoulders. "If anything," she added, playing her last, her best card, "it proves that you are in fact, just a human, and not a monster."

He briefly clenched his jaw, and she kissed him quickly, softening the blow of the reminder. "Now we better get ready; we don't want to test our luck too much."

He rolled his eyes, and she chuckled.

"Come on." She nudged him. "Hopefully my mom and the others will be here soon and then we can finally go and find that contact of yours."

Finally, she saw the traces of a smile begin to play around the corners of his mouth as he nodded.

He had been right, of course, she knew that, too. They had been lucky that no one had found them. But the last weeks hadn't been easy and she was ready to let things go for just another blissful moment.

…

Marcel didn't like the city, Rebekah could tell as much when she saw how uncomfortably he walked among the rows of houses, and she had to smile. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked at her, frowning.

"What?"

"It's almost over, okay?" She grinned.

"I don't understand." His frown merely deepened, showing his utter confusion, and she kissed his cheek briefly before continuing.

"We'll leave the streets soon enough and head for the sewers. It's safer down there. Less people." She gave him a knowing look and he squinted at her, finally understanding.

He had fallen from grace when he had insisted on not killing her, a towner, a Silveren. But he was still a forester. Grown up among the trees, a part of nature, he had never spent much time inside the walls of a building. Everyone was an enemy to the forest people: the Golden, the Silveren, even the peaceful inhabitants of the Neutral Zone, unless they adhered to the agreement of staying far away from the forest.

But Marcel had fallen in love with Rebekah, just as she had fallen in love with him. Tired and drained from having been forced to fight in a war from a young age on, Rebekah hadn't known how peaceful and calm the world could be until she had ended up separated from her scouting troop in the middle of the woods. She would have starved if he hadn't found her and brought her back to the settlement.

They had been inseparable ever since. She couldn't even say what her fascination with him and his people was, but she had started longing for a life with him in the forest. She had persuaded the settlers to let their group of Silveren deserters stay, she had persuaded them to let her and Marcel set up a tent right outside, and she had even begun to get Qetsiyah of the forest people to trust her. Yet the foresters still wouldn't allow Marcel back, and they wouldn't let her in.

She sniffed, forcing herself to concentrate on the more imminent problems. They had to get to Enzo and Bonnie. The plan was for them all to then meet up with the man Enzo had been sent to kill by their mother. Lily had gotten wind of the man's offer and had seen it as the most dangerous threat to the Silveren territories, or probably rather to her "reign" and she had given the kill order.

Rebekah wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated to be related to that woman, but she couldn't shake it off. Unless she helped Enzo do the exact opposite of what their mother had told him to.

There was hope for them all, and if she helped end the war, and make the world a safer place, maybe the rest of the foresters would finally see her as worthy and would let her and Marcel live with them in peace, hidden away from a world and a heritage that had never truly been hers.

"Almost there," Caroline suddenly announced, and she could see Tyler put up a hand to stop them.

"What?" she asked, coming up beside him, trying to see what he seemed to have spotted.

"Soldiers." He looked at her, then pointed off across the street. "There's a manhole right there, see? You go down there and I'll get Bonnie and Enzo," he told them, but Rebekah shook her head.

"I'm not letting my brother alone."

He rolled his eyes at her, and she glared at him angrily, challengingly.

"It'll be easier to go undetected if I head over there alone, okay?" he said.

"I'll do it."

"You're not an Eternal."

"So?"

Caroline looked at her with a sympathy that Tyler couldn't seem to muster under the circumstances and his girlfriend nodded to him to back off a little, which he reluctantly did.

"He's right, Rebekah. If the soldiers spot him or Enzo and Bonnie, Tyler will have the best chance at fighting them off."

"Just because he's an Eternal doesn't mean anything. It takes more than that to be a ruthless and successful warrior." Rebekah wasn't going to back down easily, but then Abby came over, stepping between the two younger women.

"This is not the time," she sternly told them. "Tyler, you go and get Bonnie and Enzo. Rebekah, we need you to help us in case the soldiers find us first. Hopefully neither of us will have to prove how well and 'ruthless,'" she repeated Rebekah's word, "we can fight any time soon. Now, let's go."

Grudgingly, Rebekah backed down and nodded briefly at the doc, but only because she respected the older woman and her judgment. Marcel glanced at her briefly and they quietly communicated before rushing over to the manhole, swiftly descending into the sewers before anyone had spotted them, while Tyler raced toward the nearby shed.

…

When the door to their hiding place was suddenly pushed open, Bonnie hit an unsuspecting Tyler over the head with the end of a large rake.

"Shit," it escaped him as he cradled his forehead and temple in his free hand, the other one hidden underneath his coat, but showing the light gleam of the weapon.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry." She grimaced on his behalf but he waved her off when she wanted to take a look.

"I'm fine. Let's just get you out of here. There's a troop of soldiers coming your way, so we gotta move fast."

Bonnie nodded, all business. There wasn't much for them to pack up, so they were quick. Enzo moved to put on his weapon, but Tyler shook his head.

"I got mine. It's better we don't draw too much attention by both running around all cloaked." He made a face, and Enzo understood, nodding in reluctant agreement. Tyler was probably right, so he carefully put the weapon away and slung it across his back.

"Where are the others?" Bonnie wanted to know, busily shoving any trace of their stay in the shed back into her backpack.

"Waiting for us in the sewers. It's not far."

She exchanged a glance with Tyler, feeling uncomfortable. She wasn't exactly excited about the prospect of having to go down there, but admittedly, it would be much safer than traveling the streets.

When they were finally all done, Enzo cautiously poked his head outside the door, and when he didn't spot much traffic, he signaled to the other two and they warily snuck out into the half sleeping city.

He gave Bonnie a look, his expression serious, and she nodded reassuringly, taking his hand in hers before they made their way into the open street, quickly pulling back as a group of soldiers almost ran into them. One of them bumped Enzo's side hard, and he flinched as his weapon arm made contact. Bonnie froze for a second as the soldier turned around to face them.

"Sorry, sir," Enzo said, bowing his head, and much to Bonnie's relief, the soldier merely nodded, then continued walking away with his comrades.

That was a close call. She felt her legs shaking ever so slightly and she pressed her lips together to concentrate back on what they were here to do. She inhaled deeply, then they both followed Tyler across the street until they spotted the manhole to the side of a smaller pathway.

...

The rest of their little group was already waiting for them and after Abby and Rebekah had briefly hugged them, Marcel broke his silence, clearing his throat.

"What next, Eternal?" he asked Enzo, gauging him with his open stare, and Enzo felt slightly uneasy around the other man. He clenched his jaw, briefly looking over to his sister for something kind of guidance. If she really trusted Marcel, he was willing to do the same, but it wasn't easy.

Bekah nodded at him, smiling.

"Follow me," he then rasped, and led the way, checking in his mind which direction they needed to head in.

...

"We gonna find that man now?" Caroline eventually asked as they were on their way, raising her chin, ready for a new task. "Did that mysterious guy give you a location at all?" She was half joking, because it couldn't be that easy. But then Enzo actually nodded, and they all just stared at him for a moment.

"Are you serious?" Caroline scoffed.

"An actual address?" Bonnie asked at the same time, giving him a surprised look, shocked at how easy that sounded. She had feared they might have to scour the city for a person neither of them had seen before.

"A bar."

Bonnie's face fell. A bar meant people, loud noises, lights. It meant that their risk of detection would be highly elevated.

"How do we know it's him? How do we know he'll still go there? I mean, it's been months since you were supposed to meet him, right?"

"There's no guarantee, obviously. But according to him it's his favorite spot to hang out. He said to come in the mornings, when the usual guests are fast asleep and everyone else is busy working."

Bonnie scoffed, exchanging a glance with Caroline, who looked equally incredulous. "Doesn't he work?"

Enzo shrugged and made a face. He didn't have all the answers, either.

"He called himself a philanthropist. - Honestly, I'm thinking he's some rich guy that doesn't have to work for a living, but something or other makes him want to do what he offered to do."

"I bet he wants something in return," Bonnie mused.

"I'm sure of that."

Enzo held out an arm suddenly, stopping their little group in its tracks.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked, her breath hitching with anticipation.

"If I got it right, we need to climb up here."

"Are we all going together?" Tyler asked, and Caroline shot him a glance.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna stay behind, and definitely not down here."

Enzo grumbled out an annoyed, "Fine. But I'll go first, and I'll be the one initiating any contact. You stay in the back. All of you. Bekah," he addressed his sister last, knowing her too well. "I mean it."

She shot him a glare before averting her gaze, huffing out her annoyance, but at least she didn't object.

...

After a quick climb up, Bonnie breathed in the fresh air with sincere relief.

Didn't think I'd ever be so glad to smell the city, she told Enzo and he smirked at her.

Technically the stuff down there is also 'city smells'...

She rolled her eyes at him, reciprocating his smirk when he suddenly jerked his head in the direction of an old ramshackle building with large letters above it, a flickering red sign denominating it as the Mystic Bar, and Bonnie scrunched up her face at the prospect of having to enter that establishment.

Really? She looked at him with a sour expression and he had to smile at her again.

Really. - You can wait outside if you prefer, but I'd rather have you with me…

…

Alaric Saltzman was sitting in his usual spot, a stool toward the back of the bar counter, drinking a glass of a dark red wine, swigging the liquid around absently, lost in thought. There had been a mysterious attack last night, he had seen traces of it in the early hours of morning, and he had decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep under the circumstances. Something was going on in the city and it wasn't good. So he had made up his mind and decided to go to the bar even earlier than usual instead of going home, and here he now sat to let the incident sink in.

There hadn't been an attack like that in years. Was it coincidence that it had happened the same year he had tried to make contact with the enemy side? Could it, perhaps, have anything to do with the fact that his contact hadn't shown up in the expected time window? That possibility was too glaringly obvious.

He took a sip of his wine, grimacing as the tannins coated his teeth uncomfortably, and he grabbed a handful of peanuts to wash down the taste.

"Heard about what went down last night?" Sinclaire, the bar owner, asked him, sitting down next to him now that he was the only guest. The man was in his late forties, though life had aged him beyond his years, his hair streaked with peppery gray. He wasn't conventionally good looking or anything, yet the patrons all liked him, because he exerted a certain cozy safe air. He was also smart, good company, and honestly, Alaric preferred that over any empty flirts with the random women that sometimes found their ways into the establishment.

He shook his head. "Some dead soldiers, that's all I know," he muttered into his wine glass, then sniffed and downed the rest of it in one large gulp.

"Want a refill?"

"Nah, I'm good. It's probably time to head home, anyway."

"On the house?" Sinclaire held the bottle between his thumb and index finger, the rest of the wine half visible through the green of the glass.

Alaric sighed. "Fine," he said, "how could I say no to such an invitation." He smiled his most agreeable smile at the man, and Sinclaire chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"You didn't actually want to go home." He grinned, then continued, a little more serious, while filling Alaric's glass back up. "So, the attack... From what I hear, it was an Eternal."

He had spoken casually, but Alaric nearly spat out the wine he had just sloshed around in his mouth.

"What?"

"I mean, right? What are those guards doing if now there's freaking Eternals coming into our city? How difficult can it be to spot one of them coming through our gates?! Geez. I'm seriously pissed."

Sinclaire gave Alaric a look, frowning at the expression on the other man's face.

"You alright there, Alaric?"

Thankfully, he didn't have to come up with an explanation for right then, the door opened, and along with a ray of brightest daylight, in came a serious looking man with a pretty girl on his arm, a few other serious faces following behind. But what caught his attention even more was the slightly older woman that entered behind them all, her skin dark and glowing, her wild hair framing her handsome face, and he sucked in an appreciative gasp.

"Well well, I think you have guests, Sinclaire," he said, turning around in his stool completely. Then, suddenly, his features darkened as he spotted the pack on the first man's back, then a similar one on his younger companion that suspiciously stayed close to the door. The shape was nothing much, something pointy which could have been tent rods for all he knew, or regular military swords, yet something about it all was ringing his alarm bells, and he hopped off his chair, leaving his glass on the counter. "Or actually," he muttered, suspicious, "I think I may be having guests. Excuse me." With that, he swaggered over to the strange group.

He cocked his head, almost dancing around the brunette, then the dark man and his girl, and Alaric saw the kid pull his girl closer to him in a way that gave away their affection for each other. Interesting.

"Welcome to Sinclaire's little world, my favorite place to hang out. Usually we are quite alone at this time of day, however. So," he paused, scrutinizing the man warily, looking up and down, inching closer until he could feel the man's breath against his skin. Usually, when he did that, the other party was quickly intimidated and tried to gain back their personal space. Not so this specimen. Ric was instantly intrigued. It really must be him, then, he thought, a strange excitement taking hold of him. He raised his chin, just like his opponent had already done, then he asked, with a sideways glance at the gorgeous woman beside them, "What brings you all here, at this hour?"

"You're Saltzman?"

He broke into a sincere burst of laughter at the man's stony delivery of his name.

"No one really calls me that, but yes. I am Alaric Saltzman. And you, I believe, must be St. John."

The girl beside him showed more of a reaction to the name than her companion did, who remained eerily calm.

"You Eternals really are stoic people, aren't you?" Saltzman whispered conspiratorially, winking at the handsome one, who rolled her eyes at him, and he chuckled. Then he suddenly walked back over to where he had left his wine and he finished the glass with a few quick gulps before putting on his jacket, grabbing his hat and turning to Sinclaire, who had minded his business putting chairs up on the tables and wiping down the counter.

"Thanks for the wine, Sinclaire. Oh and don't get worried if I'm not back tomorrow at the usual time. I have visitors, and I might have to show them around town."

The gray haired man nodded at him with a knowing grin.

"Follow me, my friends," Alaric said cheerily, leading the way as he buttoned his jacket. "This is the way to my humble abode."

This was going to be a good day after all.

…

The place didn't even begin to qualify as humble. Enzo clenched his jaw as Saltzman walked them through the hallway of a very large building, marble floors so shiny that he could see his reflection. The walls were hung with expensive big frames, dark pictures and mirrors, and the ceilings so high that even the large chandeliers hanging from it were still so high up he wouldn't have been able to touch them had he jumped. He heard Bonnie audibly gasp and saw her exchange a glance with her mother as they all walked into a wide living room with long fluffy couches and a beautiful rug on the floor, and he swallowed.

Rebekah came up beside him, her arm brushing against his as she breathed, "I don't trust this guy one bit. Whoever lives like a king during war can't be on the good side."

"There are no good sides in war, Bekah," he drily told her and she rolled her eyes at him.

But he had to admit she had a point. There were not many people left that lived in a world like Alaric Saltzman.

"Welcome to my home." The man gave a wave of his arm, then looked at them all mildly. "Sit please," he said, indicating the large couches before he walked over to a wooden cabinet, opening it to take a few glasses out, balancing them expertly as he got a bottle of amber liquid out, too, and placed them all on the mantle of his large fireplace. When he turned around again, he noticed that none of them had sat down, and he grimaced.

"Fine. Or you can stand." He smirked at the handsome one, trying to get her to smile back, but she only gazed at him warily. Still, she did accept the proffered drink from him, and he thought that counted for something. At least she didn't think he was about to poison her.

He handed out the other drinks and when his motley group of guests - had he really spotted a forester among them? - still made no move to sit down, he sighed, then flopped down on the nearest couch, putting his booted feet casually on his glass coffee table.

"Alright," he said. "Now that you all know my name, it is only common courtesy to introduce yourselves in turn. He looked over to the earnest kid, Enzo, and waited for him to take charge, but it was the girl that moved closer first, sitting down opposite, leaning forward to stare at him intensely.

"I'm Bonnie," she said. "This is my mother, Abby."

Oh, so the handsome lady had a name. Abby... It suited her.

"Hello Bonnie. Abby," he winked at them, his gaze staying on Abby a moment longer before Bonnie counted off the names of his other guests.

Rebekah, Caroline, Marcel, Tyler.

Once she was done, he looked to Enzo, swigging the liquid in his glass so haphazardly it almost spilled.

"You should have told me you'd get here with a whole entourage, and a few months late. I was beginning to think that plan of ours was dead before it even started."

Enzo made a face at him. "Yeah, well. Things didn't go as planned."

"So I surmised."

...

I don't like him. Bonnie tried not to look at Enzo so as not to tip Saltzman off to their bond, because she had a feeling he knew a thing or two about link relationships, and she didn't trust him at all.

Was this too smooth looking man really the answer to all their hopes and wishes? What exactly did he have to offer that would make such a huge difference?

He's definitely something…

No one else had sat down until then, so Bonnie took it upon herself to lead the conversation. It was good that they stayed vigilant, ready to run if they had to.

Is that alright with you? she asked Enzo and feeling his almost relief at her taking charge was answer enough. She smiled at him briefly, before focusing on Saltzman, her features guarded as she did.

"What exactly do you have to offer, Mr. Saltzman, and why? We have no reason to trust you."

He smirked at her, slowly leaning forward, too, until he was closer to her. She saw that despite her first impression that he was young, he did have some lines around the eyes, and his slicked dark hair showed just the first signs of aging here and there, barely perceptible.

"You are right, Bonnie. You don't have any reason at all to trust me, other than my word. See, I'm a businessman, and war is not good for business - unless you're an arms dealer." He chuckled to himself, but soon stopped when she and the others stoically glared at him, waiting. Bonnie noticed how the chuckle didn't leave his eyes, however, it lingered as a bright sheen that made him almost look nice.

"What kind of business?" Bonnie wasn't going to let him skip the important details. How was she to know that he wasn't an arms dealer?

You think he could be? Enzo sounded doubtful, but suspicious.

I honestly don't know. I just want to make sure we don't fall into a trap.

Saltzman sighed. "I'm in the metal trade." He raised a finger. "I know, I know, metal is also needed for weapons of all sorts. I'm not denying that I've made profit from the war, too. But. Lately, I've started losing more and more loads, no less than ten just within the last month alone. The military is intercepting my deliveries and takes what they need without paying."

"I thought you were a philanthropist," Bonnie stated drily, quoting Enzo's word from earlier, and Saltzman made a face at her, then looked at Enzo.

"I see you told her."

Enzo merely shrugged, and Saltzman clapped his hands against his thighs, then got up.

"I am a philanthropist, Bonnie. I like people, I don't want them to suffer. But yes, I also like money. Being a Saltzman has always come with certain privileges that have nothing to do with heritage and all with wealth, being able to buy any favors we want. The war is beginning to destroy those privileges, and to be quite honest, I don't appreciate it. It has to end. It's time for the old oligarchies to sink and vanish into oblivion. It's time for a new empire to rise, one without terror…"

"Those are all nice words, but they're empty," Abby piped up in the back, and Saltzman grinned at her before Bonnie had his attention again.

"We still don't know what you are actually offering, other than a mysterious 'cure.'" Bonnie air-quoted.

Suddenly, Saltzman began to beam.

"Let me fill those empty words a little then," he said, looking at her, then Abby. "Please follow me."

With that he put his glass down on the table and began to walk. Bonnie exchanged a glance with Enzo, raising her eyebrows.

"Okay," he quietly said. "Come on. We better get this over with."

…