"Enzo, get in here," Damon's face is taut with frustration as he slams the phone down.
"What is it?" Enzo walks in, mere moments later.
"Dr. Maxfield was gone when the Richmond PD arrived to arrest him. They've checked plane and bus records so wherever he went, he drove, at least when he left," Damon pounds his fist on his desk.
"Did they put an APB out on him?"
"Yes, all the local precincts are on alert but he could be anywhere Enzo. And no, he didn't leave from the Richmond airport but that doesn't mean he didn't leave from somewhere else.
"He must've gotten a tip?"
"That'd be my guess... Dammit! Where the hell could he be headed? Elena Gilbert told me she met him at his hospital, he had a few words with her."
"Did she tell him anything?"
"No, I don't believe so but he found Katherine Mikaelson so what's to stop him from finding her sister? What if he's on his way here?"
"It's possible, should we put her under surveillance?"
"Not until I talk to her about it. I'm already in the doghouse with her, I don't want to dig the hole deeper. We have no way of knowing if he's headed this way."
"What about Vincent, maybe the FBI could put his name and face on the wire? Get his picture in every post office from here to Virginia?"
Damon nods, "Let's go," he grabs his jacket, plops his hat on his head and leaves his office in a brisk pace with Enzo scurrying to catch up.
"This is Wes and who might you be?"
"It's Katherine, your goon fucked up and killed my sister," Elena slips easily into the Katherine persona. Her sister was older but people often mistook them for twins, they could easily fool people when they wanted to.
"Katherine? How is that even possible?"
Elena can hear the shock in his tone. "My sister was babysitting that day... I think we should meet?"
"Where are you?"
"Galveston, Texas. Look, I played mother long enough... "
"And you husband?"
She can hear the skepticism in his voice. "Fine, I'll admit it, you were right? I don't want to talk about him... I thought maybe we could run away?"
"It is you! I warned that you'd never be happy with him."
Elena takes a breath, "How soon can you get here?"
"I'm on my way," he chuckles.
"I'll make some excuse and meet you at the pier Thursday evening. I'll be at the Galaxy Wheel," she clicks off before he can respond, the phone falls to the floor when her grip slackens.
Eyes the palest of watery blue watch the road ahead as he speeds towards the Texas border. His head bobs erratically as if it's too heavy for his long neck with protruding Adam's apple. Unnaturally long thin fingers, each like the tendril of a parasitic plant, grip the steering wheel as he presses harder on the gas pedal to speed around an old man driving much too slowly in front of him.
As the sun creeps over the horizon he feels more optimistic than ever before. The enemy has taken some significant hits, and now she's showing a willingness to negotiate. Will he be able to talk her into leaving with him? His hands clam up at the very thought.
With his mind consumed by her, he doesn't realize it till his rental Jeep swerves out of control. Two cars in the next lane try to avoid him and both of them hit another car sending a ball of flame and a fist of black smoke skyward. He can't stop, he won't help, he has to keep going no matter what. He has a meeting tomorrow evening that he will not miss.
"Your hair, Elena, wow, you really resemble Katherine when you wear it like that," Nik mentions as he lets her into the house. As much as her nerves alight when she puts one foot over the threshold into the house Katherine died, she promised she'd help him go through some of her things so the owner can find some new tenants.
"Yeah, it was a spur of the moment thing," she walks into Katherine's closet. She also has an ulterior motive for wanting to return to this house, she needs to find something of hers to wear when she meets up with Wes tomorrow evening. Taking several hangers out, she lays the clothes on the bed then starts to fold and put them in a box. She finds a lace camisole and a leather bolero length jacket that she stuffs in the bag she brought. Once all the clothes from the closets are boxed, she starts going through her shoes and nods to herself when she finds a pair of boots that will go with her skinny jeans then quickly finishes packing the footwear. Lastly, she takes a peek in her jewelry box, she's certain Nik will take the whole thing but she finds a long layered necklace and a pair of matching earrings. She'll give it back to him after...
"I'm done with her things in the bedroom," Elena sets one of the boxes with the ones Nik is working on. "I hope you don't mind, but I kept a cute top and jacket..."
"That's fine, Elena. I think you should keep what you like and the rest we'll donate to a women's shelter or the Good Will."
"She had a lot of clothes, so you could probably split her things up and donate to both places," her eyes land on his briefcase since he came to the house as soon as he got off for the day. "How's Camille working out?" she changes the subject.
"The babies seem to like her a lot, my mother likes her too."
"Camille is a good person, I hope everything works out for all of you. I am available to babysit sometimes too, I just need a head's up..." Elena stops when she hears a scratching like sound.
"What is it?" He notices her going still.
"Nothing, I thought I heard something."
"I'm going to use the bathroom," Nik excuses himself and as soon as she hears the door close, she quickly opens his briefcase, hoping he'll have what she's looking for. And then she sees it... Hearing his footsteps, she quickly pockets the vial then puts the contents back in a neat order and snaps it shut mere moments before he reappears.
"I promised the landlord I'd get the house key back to him by the end of next week now that the police are finally done here."
"It took them long enough," Elena picks up her bag with Katherine's clothes and hands Nik his coat.
"Let's go, I don't think there's anymore we can do here tonight," he slips his jacket on, picks up his briefcase and once Elena is outside too, he locks up the place. "Let's go home should we?"
She nods and slides into the passenger seat when he opens the car door for her. Slamming it shut, he hops behind the wheel and drives away.
Damon's head snaps up when Enzo barges into his office the next afternoon. "I got a call from Detective Cruz. They got a hit on Wesley Maxfield in New Orleans. He got pulled over for a speeding ticket. They didn't know he was wanted so they let him go."
"New Orleans? That has to mean he's coming this way," Damon's face hardens in concentration.
"I think so too," Enzo agrees, scrutinizing his friend.
"I want a tail on Elena Gilbert. If he's headed here, she can be the only reason. If we're wrong, no harm, no foul."
Enzo nods, "I'm on it," then leaves the room.
"Son of a Bitch," Damon crumples his empty coffee cup and tosses it aside. He picks up his phone to call her but then sets it back down. He knows full well that she won't listen if he asks her to go to Houston or somewhere safe. The only thing he can do now is to find and arrest Maxfield before he can get anywhere near the woman he loves.
I'm sorry for the short chapter but it had to end there... ;)
Thanks all. Your kindness and support is very much appreciated.
Chapter title: 'Trouble' by Lindsay Buckingham.
Be safe and have a terrific day. We'll see you next week.