This was written for the Klarosummer Bingo Event going on for the month of June.
Prompt: Brewery weekend
How much is one life worth? Apparently, it worth a medical license. Klaus smiled grimly at the thought, finishing the rest of his beer and signaling for another round. After equal parts raging and moping around his condo for a month, Kol finally dragged him away for a brewery weekend to help him 'to stop being a sad wanker and get his priorities straight.'
Grumbling to himself, he noticed that his idiot brother seemed more interested in trying to bed the attractive beauties that flitted through the main taproom rather than help him move past the fact that his professional reputation had been destroyed. Currently, the lovely copper-skinned bird he'd been trying to chat up looked like she'd gladly slit his throat with her nails without losing that enigmatic smile the women all seemed to carry around there.
As Kol shamelessly followed after her when she left the room, Klaus snorted in derision. Not that he could fault Kol for his infatuation; Klaus couldn't help but notice that he too kept getting distracted from his miserable thoughts of hospital board hearings and the humiliation of medical board investigations. Every time he caught sight of those bright blonde curls, he held his breath, trying to work up the nerve to approach her. He was man enough to admit he'd lost his edge; before his life's work had fallen apart around him, he'd had no problem approaching such a gorgeous creature.
In fact, he used to view it almost as a sport — dazzling attractive women with his impressive credentials as a board-certified trauma surgeon. And if that didn't work, he used his dimples and accent as a trusty fallback. But now, it just all seemed so overwhelming.
He'd gleaned from his casual observations that her name was Caroline, and she appeared to be one of the owners of Founding Family Brewery. She always was surrounded by a group of women who all wore similar shark-like grins. Despite their relaxed postures as they sat around the same table near the back, there always seemed to be a tenseness to their shoulders, a tightening of their jawlines as they carried on discussions in hushed tones.
Today, he watched as she laughed at something one of the other women said, tossing back her blonde curls to reveal an intriguing feather tattoo tucked behind her ear. He'd noticed the rest of her group seemed to have the same tattoo in different places — along a shoulder blade, a wrist, an ankle. He planned to ask Caroline about its origins once he managed to find the courage to talk to her. "I expect you to convince them," her voice rang out, followed by another throaty chuckle that made his skin twitch.
At her commanding tone, two of the women immediately stood up, the brunette twins that already had shut Kol down when he approached them earlier with a ridiculous line about offering them a 'toad in a hole'. "Take protection," Caroline murmured quietly, the women acknowledging her with a terse nod as they left the taproom.
Klaus raised an eyebrow at that — while he understood that contraception was important, Caroline and her friends' serious expressions certainly gave him pause. But then, she raised her head, those piercing blue eyes of hers capturing him in a way that made his cheeks warm. She quietly dismissed the other women at her table, sending him a smile that somehow seemed both aloof yet inviting.
She rose like a goddess from her table, strutting confidently toward him in a fitted red dress that had him gripping the beer bottle until his knuckles went white. "Are you and your brother enjoying your stay," she asked, sliding in the empty chair across from him. At his look of surprise, she explained, "Kol has made an impression on my girls. But don't worry — I warned them to be gentle."
"Yes, our brewery weekend has been quite relaxing, sweetheart. But please allow me to apologize for my brother — I hope he's been behaving himself?"
An amused grin crossed her lovely face as she replied, "I promise my girls can handle themselves." She leaned forward, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Caroline, by the way."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Klaus." He allowed a flirtatious smirk to slide into place as he kissed her knuckles. After all, she was a formidable woman, and he knew he likely wouldn't get another chance to make an impression. Despite her indulgent smile, he noticed a slight flush to her cheeks that hadn't been there before. Perhaps he did have a chance. "Has the brewery been in your family long?"
"Not too long, but it's been an interesting adventure, managing the family business," Caroline replied, nodding to one of the bartenders who had scurried over to bring her a beer. She clinked the glass necks of their bottles, taking a sip as her eyes carefully swept the taproom. What was she looking for? "Kol mentioned you were considering switching careers and maybe looking for a change of scenery?"
Coloring slightly that his brother might've been discussing his personal business with strangers, he did his best to keep the resentment from his tone. "I suppose it was more that I'm legally obligated to switch careers, love. The hospital board and the medical board were quite insistent." He waited for her pitying look, and a downturn twist of her lips before she suddenly made up an excuse to leave him wallowing in his misery. He knew he had nothing to offer such a vibrant, attractive woman.
"Well, that's bullshit," she said unexpectedly. "So, some uptight old white guys tore up a piece of paper. That doesn't mean they tore up your education." There was a fierce glint in her blue eyes that he found immensely appealing. "No one can take that away from you."
He scoffed, "No one's about to hire a disgraced surgeon who's lost his license."
"You never know," she mused. "An organization like mine can make room for a variety of skill sets." A striking redhead suddenly appeared at her side, lowly whispering something about a shipment. An unreadable look crossed her face as Caroline stood suddenly. "It seems my presence is requested at a...meeting." With a final flirtatious wink, she promised, "I'll find you later, Klaus. I think we may have business to discuss after all."
Confused (and more than a little turned on), he watched the graceful sway of her hips as she walked away.
After Kol unsuccessfully tried to get him to join a scavenger hunt on the grounds in order to chat up what appeared to be a large group of sorority pledges, Klaus went back to their suite, hoping his brother had enough sense not to invite anyone up to the room.
He'd barely drifted off to sleep when firm hands harshly shook him awake. "Get up. Now," a female voice growled in his ear. A lamp was flicked on in the corner and he blearily registered his suite was now filled with many of the women he'd seen with Caroline around the brewery this weekend. Fumbling for his jeans, he cursed indignantly, "What the bloody hell are you doing in my room?"
One of the twins scrutinized him, giving a decidedly unimpressed snort. "Recruiting you, Doctor Dimples."
He couldn't help but notice the way the group of attractive women moved toward him in unison, looking vaguely threatening. This is something right out of Kol's deluded fantasies and the little wanker isn't even here to witness it. "Recruiting me for what exactly," he asked, eyeing them suspiciously. Why was Caroline not at this bizarre gathering?
Suddenly, his Henley and boots were thrown at his chest, the black woman with blazing green eyes telling him in a no-nonsense voice, "Enough! Get dressed and come with us now."
"Who the hell—" Klaus began angrily, only to stop short when the twins simultaneously pulled out guns, leveling them at his head with a precision that spoke of years of practice. "Right," he said hoarsely, quickly throwing on his shirt and lacing his boots, doing his best not to make any sudden movements. While the other women had yet to produce guns, he assumed they were armed as well. What the hell was going on?
His career working trauma in the ER had taught him to read people quickly, and while the women moved with an intimidating, coordinated effort that implied a penchant for violence, he couldn't help but notice the rigid manner they held themselves, the slight muscle twitches that gave them away. These formidable women were scared. A cold trickle of fear slithered up his spine as he started to suspect the reason why Caroline wasn't in the room with the rest of her people.
He'd seen his share of criminals in his ER, and he understood the danger he was in. Cooperate fully. Don't give them a reason to shoot. He worried about Kol, hoping that wherever he'd shacked up with the sorority girls, he'd stay there until this mess could be sorted. With a curt nod at the twins still holding the guns, he said, "Lead the way." He didn't miss the brief looks of relief that flashed across everyone's faces.
They hustled him out of the suite, marching quickly down the deserted hall and pausing briefly to press a nondescript panel that startled him as it revealed a hidden elevator. Well-organized criminals, he thought to himself. Organized crime. Mafia. Gray eyes widened suddenly as he realized belatedly what was going on. Kol's 'carefree, stop-being-a-sad-wanker' brewery weekend was at a brewery that served as a front for the mob. If they got out of this alive, he was going to murder his brother.
Gleaming mahogany doors were thrown open, leading to a sumptuously decorated suite. One of the twins roughly pushed him forward, shouting, "Boss, we brought you Doctor Dimples!"
As he stumbled slightly, he found himself in front of an enormous four-poster bed, where an alarmingly pale Caroline was propped up on multiple pillows, her blood soaking into the linens. Despite her shaky grip on the gore-soaked towel she'd pressed to her abdomen, her voice was stern. "Elena, I told you we weren't calling him that." Rolling her eyes, she added, "And it's really Bonnie's fault we're having to call him anything, since she broke our last doctor."
"Enzo knew what he was getting into. Not my fault he thought he could turn me on with some white picket fence bullshit," retorted a petulant voice tinged with worry.
Klaus ignored the chatter around him, his training pushing him into action as he moved to Caroline's side. He gently moved aside the towel, patting her blood-streaked hands as he told her, "Easy, love. Let's see what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into." A quick glance told him she'd been shot, but he couldn't feel an exit wound, which complicated matters — especially given that any number of internal organs could've been hit. He started making a mental list of supplies he'd need — piles of towels, hydrogen peroxide, ice, sharp knife, tweezers, fishing line or dental floss, antibiotics, etc.
Despite the intense pain she obviously was in, she held herself with a rigid discipline that he couldn't help but admire. A fighter. Ever since these women had barged into his room, he'd been redefining what he thought he knew about Caroline, and he found himself even more intrigued. He finally realized he and Caroline had been staring at each other, something fierce passing between them that couldn't be ignored.
Caroline raised her voice over the cacophony of voices in the room, commanding the women, "Elena, Kat — secure the shipment in the warehouse. Call for backup in case the Salvatores follow you or stupidly think tipping off the cops will save their scrawny hides." Nodding toward the redhead by the door, she added, "Aurora, get ready to play nurse and fetch whatever Klaus asks for."
Klaus warily eyed Bonnie as she produced a gun, casually holding it in her hand. Caroline sharply told her, "There's no need for that. Klaus understands the stakes."
Despite a painful shudder that went through her body, she somehow managed to wink at Klaus. "Looks like your job interview will be a bit more hands-on than I'd intended."
