AN: So, here we go - a new story! It's another all human fic and I will warn you that updates for this story will be pretty slow until I finish the one I already have in progress. It's called Writer's Block so go check it out if you haven't read it already. So by posting this chapter I'm really just testing the waters to see what you think of the story, etc. So please do leave me your comments on the reviews or PM me and let me know what you think. If there's anyway I can improve the story let me know so that once I'm done with the other story I could maybe even rewrite some of the chapters if need be. Anyway, here's the first chapter. I hope you like it!

Elena Gilbert sat at the front porch of her house watching the sun rise over the beautiful house that she shared with her soon-to-be-husband Damon Salvatore. For reasons known only to her and the man sleeping in her bedroom, she knew that the day was not going to be a peaceful one. As if on cue, she heard sirens blaring not too far away and in a matter of seconds an ambulance and a police car rushed by. She stretched lazily and looked down at her phone. It was 6.30 am. Damon would be awake soon. She stepped back into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee and waited for the love of her life to walk down the stairs.

Keeping to his daily routine, Damon was at the kitchen at 6.45 am pouring himself a cup of coffee hoping that would wake him up enough to be productive at work. He caught Elena sitting at the counter with her own cup of coffee and dropped a kiss on her forehead saying, "Last night was amazing."

Elena grinned happily up at him. "I told you it was going to be perfect. Although I have to admit, I couldn't sleep after that."

"You've always been that way", he said sitting down next to her. "Even the tiniest bit of adrenaline and you're up all night. Anyway, it's a good thing you don't have to be at work until later. I on the other hand should get moving", he said looking at the clock. It was 7 am.

Elena smiled to herself as she got their breakfast ready. She could hear the shower go on upstairs and she knew exactly what he would be doing. After 3 years of living together, she knew his routine by heart. At 7.30 am sharp, he was back down in the kitchen and Elena had already laid the breakfast out for him. "I saw an ambulance and police cruiser heading towards Sunset Lane", she said making breakfast conversation.

"Sounds about right", answered Damon absentmindedly.

"No it doesn't", said Elena, getting his attention. But before she could say anything more, the front door swung open and in walked Damon's brother, Stefan Salvatore, dressed to impress in a blue suit. "Hey, Stefan", the couple called out without even looking up.

"You two should really lock the door", said Stefan as he walked to the kitchen.

"It's Mystic Falls, Stefan", said Elena as she got up and filled another plate with food for Stefan. "Nothing bad ever happens here."

"I wouldn't be so sure", answered Stefan. "Remember Katherine Pierce who lives on Sunset Lane?"

"Only too well", replied Damon with his signature smirk.

"Well, her house was burglarised this morning", he said. Of course he knew about that, thought Elena. After all, Stefan was a detective at the Mystic Falls police department.

"Is that where the ambulance and police car were headed this morning?" asked Elena as she sat back down in front of her food. All of a sudden she didn't feel like eating. "If it was just a burglary, why was the ambulance called?"

"When Katherine realised that her house had been broken into, she rushed downstairs to get to her landline. She slipped on the stairs and sprained her ankle", said Stefan as he hungrily scarfed down the food. Damon snickered at the thought of Katherine clumsily running down the stairs but Elena felt relieved. "I know you don't like her, Damon, but it's not nice to laugh", chided his brother.

"I'm sorry but I just can't get myself to feel sorry for her", said Damon finishing off his plate. As he got the necessary papers in his briefcase he said, "You do know that all the money she's got, she got by cheating other people, right? If you ask me she deserved what she got." He got a disapproving glare from Stefan in response.

"That's not a very nice thing to say", Elena told her fiancé as she helped him with his tie.

"What's with the suit?" Stefan asked Damon.

"I have a presentation today", he told him. "Fingers crossed I get this."

"I'm sure you will", said Elena. "I saw the plan, it looks amazing. Mystic Falls should be honoured to have another building designed by you added to its landscape."

"I hope my clients think so too", he said as he got his coat on. He leaned down and kissed Elena goodbye. Before he left he said to Stefan, "Katherine and her neighbours had a watch program. You should check in with them." When he turned back to Elena for a final goodbye, he saw her glaring at him and thought better of it. Damon Salvatore drove to his office, his spirits soring higher than ever.

Once Damon was out of the house, Stefan grabbed his coat, ready to leave. "You two really should be careful", he said to Elena. "I know you think that nothing could happen but let me tell you this, the burglary at Katherine's house was a real pro job. She was in the house but she didn't hear a thing, the alarm was never triggered, her cameras caught nothing and her neighbours saw nothing. Just be careful", he said and then headed to the crime scene.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered how two men with the exact same upbringing could have been driven to such completely different lives. She had known both brothers since they were kids. Stefan was her age; they had been in the same class and had always been close. He had been the golden boy of his family. He had been amazing at school, always walked the straight and narrow. After graduating, he had enrolled to join the police force and quickly rose up its ranks. Damon on the other hand was five years older than her and Stefan. He was the black sheep of the family, had hated school, had always rebelled and had been forced into college. He had gone on to become and architect and to everyone's surprise, most of all, his father's, he had done exceedingly well. He had designed not only the house they now lived in but also a number of buildings all across the state. For someone in his 20s he had accomplished quite a lot.

Just as she was about to go upstairs and attempt to get some sleep, her gaze landed on a large sheet of paper. A closer look at it revealed that it was the layout of a house. She was about to call Damon and inform him that he had left behind one of his blueprints but then it struck her. She had studied that blueprint just the day before. She shook her head at her own forgetfulness and thanked God that Stefan hadn't realised that it wasn't one of Damon's drawings. She folded the paper and tore it in two before tossing it into the fireplace and set it on fire. Damon really could be lazy and careless sometimes. Once in her room, she walked straight to the bookshelf. She pushed aside a large bound book and revealed the steel locker hidden behind it. No one knew about the locker except her and Damon. She opened it and took out the single velvet pouch that lay inside. She emptied its contents onto her hand and admired the shiny necklace. She wasn't an expert on jewellery but she knew enough to know that it was studded with diamonds and a single large ruby and would be worth a fortune. She was also sure that this was the only item that went missing from Katherine Pierce's house during the previous night's robbery. Sure there would be some misplaced furniture, a cabinet or two left open but those were just to clue her in on the fact that she had been robbed.

Elena smiled as she thought of how easy it was to get past her alarm system. Her passcode had been her birthday and thanks to Damon's (or rather Stefan's) history with her, they were able to get in with no trouble at all. What she had been worried about was sneaking through the house without waking up its occupant. Luckily, Katherine was a heavy sleeper and she had also kept the door to her room shut. She looked closely at the jewel in her hand. Damon had a buyer lined up for this little beauty already. She put the necklace back in the pouch and locked the safe with it in it.

Whenever they robbed a house, they never kept any of the things for themselves. They always sold it for a fair price in the black market and then they gave away the money under the name of the person whom they had robbed. Damon sure did identify with Robin Hood. It appealed to his nature as both a rebel and a do gooder. Being smarter than most people gave him credit for he had already been at it for two years before she had finally figured it out. It became a lot harder to hide it from her once she had moved in. One day, she had found Carol Lockwood's missing pocket watch in the exact same locker and had confronted Damon about it when he had gotten home from work. After a loud and teary confrontation, he had confessed to stealing not only the pocket watch but also a number of other items. He had promised never to take such unnecessary risks ever again.

For a while, Damon had kept his word. He would read about unsolved cases and serial killers who were yet to be caught. Soon, he became obsessed with planning the perfect crime. He had told Elena that he just intended to plan it out but never actually execute it. His enthusiasm caught on to her as well and quite frankly, she didn't see the risk and that was how they became partners. The first plan they had ever drawn up together was a hit on the locker at Katherine's house. Damon hadn't shared why he had chosen Katherine and Elena hadn't asked. That was almost seven months ago. Since then, they had planned a number of heists at some of the most secure places in the country. They were plans that would never be carried out or so Elena promised herself. But when Elena learnt of about Katherine's role in the Salvatores' lives, her good intentions went out the window and she talked Damon into turning their dream of a perfect crime into a reality.

To say that Damon was excited would be an understatement. He had made some minor adjustments to the original idea and got together everything that they needed. He knew to go after the necklace as he claimed it was Katherine's most prized possession. Elena had even seen Katherine wearing it at a number of events and agreed that it was the perfect mark

An hour before the planned time, the doubts began to creep in. Was this really worth it? What if they got caught? What if they didn't get caught? What if the buyer didn't show the next day? What if the necklace isn't where Damon said it would be? What if…?

Damon had eased her mind regaling her with stories of his previous hits. When he had deemed her sufficiently calm, they had made their way to Katherine's house. She didn't live too far away so, they walked. The white picket fence wasn't locked and she didn't have any dogs. The two scanned the houses around them and saw that most of the lights were off. They made their way to the front porch in complete silence. Then, there was the next barrier – her alarm. It was armed and they had only one shot to get it right. Knowing Katherine, he knew that it would either be her birthday or the last four digits of her phone number, neither of which were smart choices. She was so sure of herself that she alternated the code every month. According to Damon's calculations, it would be her birthday. Elena had found herself praying as Damon entered the passcode. When he hit the last digit, she almost expected the alarm to sound alerting everyone in a two mile radius. She held her breath for five seconds and breathed out when her expectations weren't met. She carefully stepped into the house behind Damon, her heart hammering hard in her chest. She followed Damon's every move and did her best not to make a sound. Within five minutes, they had found the necklace exactly where Damon said it would be and were safely making their way back home. Once Damon had locked the door behind them, she had laughed out loud wondering why she had been so worried. "You made it seem so effortless", she had said to him, earning a huge grin in response.

Since then, she had been on an adrenaline high that she just couldn't get off of. Damon on the other hand had been able to sleep like a baby. She gave up completely on sleep and decided to prepare lunch. She had a part time job as a receptionist and she wasn't expected at the office until 2 pm. She had plenty of time to grab a quick lunch with Damon and Stefan. She sent a text to both brothers telling them to meet her at the park near the police station.

At 12.30 pm, she had managed to have a bath and get the food prepared and packed. She was surprised when she heard a car pull into their drive way. Her heart rate quickened. It was probably just Damon, she told herself. Then why did she feel dizzy all of a sudden? She held on to the counter to steady herself. The door clicked open and she breathed a sigh of relief when Damon walked in with a huge smile on his face. "They loved it", he said. "The City Hall is officially mine." His eyes sparkled with joy and enthusiasm that was contagious. She went up to him and enveloped him in a big hug.

"I knew it", she said, pride evident in her voice. "So should we head out now? We're supposed to meet Stefan in half an hour."

"We still have a couple of minutes to spare", he said holding her close as his lips landed on hers. He gave her a puzzled look when she pulled away. "What's wrong?" he asked her. "You're not having second thoughts about last night, are you?"

"I'm not", she assured him. "Now that the rush is gone, I'm worried about what would happen if we got caught."

"We won't get caught", he said pulling her into a hug. She could tell he was smiling when he added, "If we do get caught, we should petition to be cell mates."

Elena couldn't help but laugh. "I'm pretty sure we'll be in two different prisons."

"That would be boring", he said with a smirk. "We covered everything. We didn't leave dirt on the floor. We didn't leave any finger prints. They won't be able to trace it back to us. You've got to believe that. If you seem nervous whenever the topic comes up, you're just going to look guilty and that's going to make people suspicious. Right now, all we have to do is avoid suspicion and once I sell the necklace, I'll make the donation just like I used to and they'll just add it to the long list of unsolved robberies."

"Who are you going to donate it to?" she asked.

"Shining Stars Foundation", Damon answered. "It's only fitting. She used to call that necklace her shining star."

"For someone who hates the woman, you sure do know a lot about her", said Elena as she grabbed the lunch and signalled him to lead the way.

Damon held the door open for her and said, "Is that jealousy I hear?" he said lifting an eyebrow. "Stefan dated her for a while and my dad loved her which means she hung around the house more than I liked. You know what's sad though? My dad never believed me. He still thinks that Katherine was telling him the truth and I was lying to him." Elena loaded the food into the car and held out her hand. "What?" he asked.

"Give me the keys", she said. "You're angry and you turn into the world's worst driver when you're angry. I'm sure your brother would appreciate it if we arrived for lunch in one piece."

"Oh no, he'll be happy as long as the lunch arrives in one piece." Elena continued to glare at him making him give up and hand over the keys. Together, they made their way to the park to meet Stefan.

-xx-

Captain Mason Lockwood was furious. Katherine Pierce maybe young but she sure was powerful. If he didn't solve the case by the end of the week, he was pretty sure that he'd be fired. "Salvatore, Donovan, my office", he said signalling the two detectives.

Stefan and his partner, Matt Donovan exchanged worried looks as they entered the captain's office. The two of them had attended high school together and later had enrolled together. They had been working together since their first day on the force. "Any leads on the Pierce case?" the captain asked them.

"No sir", said Matt. "But it looks like an inside job. The alarm was disabled using the code at 1.45 am."

"The problem is Katherine wasn't so secretive with her passcode. She admitted a lot of people knew it", added Stefan.

"I don't care", said Mason. "I want you to talk to every single one of them. Has CSU finished their sweep?"

"They have, sir", answered Stefan. "But they came up empty. They couldn't even find a partial finger print or a strand of hair."

"What are the chances that this was professionally done?" he asked his subordinates.

"Had you asked me this morning, I would have said very high but we're not so sure any more", answered Stefan. "There is no physical evidence which sounds like a professional job."

"But the only thing they took was a necklace. The painting on her living room wall is worth more than that necklace. When we spoke to Katherine, she confirmed it. She has a lot of things in her house that are worth a lot more", elaborated Matt.

"The necklace did mean a lot to her", added Stefan. "She said it was a family heirloom."

"I know you guys are going to think I'm crazy but what if it's the same person who stole from Carol Lockwood, Giuseppe Salvatore and the others?" asked Matt voicing his concern.

"I doubt it", said Mason. "That guy's been quiet for a while now. I always assumed he was just passing through Mystic Falls."

"And besides there haven't been any donations made in Katherine's name", said Stefan.

"Anything else you can tell me?" asked Mason once again. The two men exchanged looks making it obvious to Mason that they had potentially hit a dead end. "I want this case solved ASAP", he said and dismissed them.

As the two of them walked out of the captain's cabin, Stefan turned to Matt and asked, "You're convinced that this has something to do with the previous thefts, aren't you?"

"Call it a gut feeling", said Matt. "But I just can't shake it. Although I hope it isn't the same guy. He was smart; we still don't have a clue as to who it could have been."

"That's because the trail went cold", said Stefan.

"That's not how we're supposed to work, Stefan", said Matt, in reply. "We can't wait for cases to pile up to find who the perpetrator is. We have to find him in the shortest amount of time so we can prevent future incidents. The fact that there wasn't enough evidence shouldn't have been an excuse."

"Agreed", said Stefan nodding his head. "Look, Matt, I told my brother and his fiancée that I would meet them for lunch so I'm going to bolt. I'll see you in an hour", he said and then waved and headed off to the park.

The minute he reached the park, he noticed Elena beaming up at Damon as he animatedly spoke about something he couldn't make out. Damon suddenly looked up and saw Stefan and waved him over. "You're in a really good mood today", observed Stefan.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Damon. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing and my design has been approved!"

"I knew it", said Stefan, sitting down. "Congratulations."

"How's the case going?" Elena asked him as she passed out the food. "Are you guys any closer to catching the thief?"

"Not really", answered Stefan rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "It's been a while since the police department here has had to deal with anything more than accidents and mishaps. Matt seems to be convinced that it's the same person who stole from Carol Lockwood and Bill Forbes but the Captain thinks they're unrelated."

"What about you?" asked Damon, more interested in the food than in the conversation. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think. I guess unless Katherine gets a receipt of a donation made in her name I'm going to assume that they aren't connected", said Stefan sighing. They all fell silent for a while as they ate until Stefan spoke up again. "If I remember correctly, you two were planning the perfect crime once. Am I right?" he asked making Elena almost choke on her food. Damon simply nodded still absorbed in his salad. "How would you have done it?"

Elena was still at a loss for words but thankfully, Stefan didn't seem to have noticed or at least he didn't say anything even if had noticed. Damon however had no such issues. "It's not that difficult", he said. "There are only three things stopping someone from breaking into Katherine's house – an alarm, the surveillance cameras and a neighbourhood watch program."

"She didn't have any cameras at home but that's still two more things than you have to prevent something like that", said Stefan fixing them each with a stern look. Stefan really couldn't understand how his brother could be so comfortable living in a house without any kind of safety. They even left the doors unlocked when either one of them were home. But to be fair, most of Mystic Fall's residents did live that way but that changed after the last string of burglaries.

Damon just rolled his eyes at Stefan and continued, "If the person who broke into her house had observed it at first, he would have known all this. Now, human eyes are inefficient at best at night. So evading the neighbours is easy as long as you don't make too much noise and besides, this was supposed to be late in the night, wasn't it?" Stefan nodded. "So everyone was probably asleep by then. The next part is getting the alarm code – now if you're a professional, I'm sure that's not so difficult to do. If you can fix cameras at the right position, you can video tape Katherine entering her code and voila!"

"So you think this was a professional hit?" asked Stefan.

"I have no idea", said Damon. "You're the cop, you tell me."