Update! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! The really are so motivating :)


Wet.

Slick.

Sloshy.

It was days like this that Elena was particularly glad for her skill set.

She had driven as close as she felt was safe to the address that Damon Salvatore supposedly occupied, and parked her car on a hidden access road that seemed abandoned.

Then she had trekked half a mile to her current location, which was a few acres onto the property, but still gave a respectable distance from the main...house.

She was still using that term loosely, because this solid wall of colonial building was practically its own estate, with surrounding outer buildings and a circular drive.

All that was missing was a giant fountain and a butler.

Though in all fairness, there could still be a butler, inside and out of sight.

Just like everyone else, apparently.

Over an hour ago, Elena had carefully selected a tall tree far enough away to keep her hidden from the outdoor wall cameras, yet would still give her a good vantage point.

Climbing up had been less than ideal, the damp bark an attraction to all sorts of bugs and birds, but the view had been worth it.

She could oversee most of the main grounds, security points, the road leading up to the drive, and any activity from the front or back of the small mansion.

Unfortunately, the place was a ghost town.

In the last seventy or so minutes, only one vehicle had arrived; a sleek Carerra carrying a single person.

The man had appeared young, but his blond hair and boxier build hinted that he was not, in fact, the target, and Elena could only speculate at the reason behind his arrival.

Still, she was being paid well to be thorough, so she had snapped a few pictures of him, and the license plate on his car, just to be safe.

And then it was back to the waiting game.

She passed the time by admiring the landscape that sprawled out between herself and the mansion.

It was well kept, with beautiful green shrubbery and strategically aligned trees.

Lifted platforms of rock and budding flowers were closer to the house itself, the bright colors complimented by the murky gray stone of the buildings they clung to.

It was something she imagined belonging to the housewife of a middle aged senator, not an up and coming drug lord.

Salvatore must have bought the place as soon as he landed in the states, and clearly hadn't been bothered enough to redecorate.

Or maybe he just liked the overly preserved upper class aesthetic.

She wished she knew.

Then she might have something, however minute, to add to his dossier.

Having to work with such sparse information made Elena nervous, but she had done more with less before.

The only way to flush out the facts into a file worthy of a man with Salvatore's apparent aspirations was to watch and to document.

Again, she found herself thankful for her unique abilities.

Katherine would have hated this.

She could never sit still for more than a few minutes and being quiet for any long stretch of time went against the woman's very nature.

Elena loved that about her twin, but there was a reason Kat was the bait and she was the extractor.


It took another hour of doing nothing but gazing through a pair of binoculars, but finally, there was movement.

Elena's adrenaline spiked as her peripheral checked in and she turned her head to the road leading to the drive.

Two white vans with some sort of decal, followed by a large black SVU. A ranger, maybe...or an escalade.

She adjusted the focus on her binoculars for a better look, then paired her camera up to the lens for documentation.

The vans seemed to be carrying nothing but their drivers, who waited for the man that had climbed out of the SUV to join them.

When they only walked up to the front entrance, she refocused on the vehicles.

There wasn't much to be said for the sedan, but now that she had a clearer view, she could see that what she had thought was a decal on the vans was actually a symbol.

An infinity sign, above which, in bold lettering were the letters S.I.N.C.

She took a few pictures of that as well, then pulled out her phone to text the details and acronym to Katherine.

Having access to the laptop at home, she might be able to decipher the company attached to the symbol.

In the meantime, Elena kept her eyes, and the camera, on the group by the front entrance.

They seemed to be waiting for something, and the close stances hinted that these men were familiar with each other.

A few moments later, she was proven right as the front door opened and the blond man who had entered before stepped outside to greet the others.

She could only make out the movements of their lips, and was trying to figure out a way she might be able to install some sort of audio bug for later, when someone else came out of the house.

At first, all she could see was a lot of black.

Black pants, black hair, black jacket.

But then he turned slightly, and she caught his profile.

The picture may have been less than clear, but she was certain that this was Damon Salvatore; her target.

She realigned her camera and started clicking.


The post storm darkened sky had put a grey mugginess in the air that Damon was not in favor of.

He hated the dreary weather and the endless murky showers that the city could not seem to shake.

Dreams took him far away, back to the family's property in his Italia where both his parents were now buried in the cemetery beyond the vineyard.

When he had first arrived in the States, he thought of home often; of being poolside at the villa, whiskey in hand, but discovered over time that the fantasy was empty in its lack of vocation.

In spite of the sunshine, he had felt no more satisfaction on the other side of the ocean than he did here, in this lusterless estate he was temporarily abiding in.

It was better to be here, though.

Here, he had purpose; namely ensuring that his father's death was not in vain, and more so, that it was paid back in kind.

He had lost true interest in anything else years ago.

And here in America, as he orchestrated his vengeance, it made sense to expand upon his father's empire, which had proven quite profitable.

At the very least, it gave him a reason not to eat the bullet of the gun he was carrying beneath his jacket; an urge that overcame him every time he looked in the mirror these days.

Damon shook off the thoughts and focused on the reality before him.

"Do you have the money?" he demanded, stepping outside of the house, where his men had gathered upon arrival.

Stefan moved out of his way, and the Calderone brothers lowered their head slightly in respect.

"Down to the dollar," Alaric spoke for them, "Loaded in bags in the van right now, along with last night's cash profit from SINC. Figured we could bring it in through the garage."

Damon voiced his agreement, "Go ahead. We'll key code the internal door once you're parked."

He turned to the brothers, "Alaric said you took good care of Bradly Cabbot?"

"Of course," Enzo promised, "We left him at East Cailum General. They stitched him up and sent him home. Funny enough, he didn't say a word."

"And he won't even try, if he wants to remain breathing," Mason included.

Damon nodded, "Good. Then I want Andie back on shift tomorrow. The marks should be coverable by then, and since her poor choice in men has cost me two night's profit, she can work a double. If she gives you any trouble, call me."

He left them to it, leading Stefan back inside the house and letting the thick door lock shut behind them.

He entered the room off the grand hall that he was using as an office and reminded himself that he needed to have a security system added for that doorway as well.

He grabbed a pen from the large oak desk and a legal pad.

"Go to the garage entrance downstairs," he instructed his cousin, "When the vans are secured, type in this code to open the door at the bottom, and this one for the one uptop."

He scribbled the numbers out and gave the paper to Stefan, who nodded, "Do you want me to shred this when I'm done?"

Damon smirked, moving to his blinking computer system, "I'm going to assume that question was rhetorical."

He dismissed the younger man to his task and fired up the monitor on the desk before taking a seat in his chair.

His fingers drifted across the keyboard, passcoding through his firewalls and brought up the information he needed.

Emails, invoices, and delivery information for the club was all forwarded to the system at his office there.

He or Alaric would take care of those specifics tonight.

A few encrypted files, which kept the secure data of his purchasings locked away for approval at the end of the quarter, were logged and tabulated.

Everything else seemed quiet.

He shifted over to his security systems; checking the club first to be certain the set up for the night was going smoothly, then the in-home cameras, which showed the boys entering through the kitchen with the bags.

Stefan would have them take it to the vault room upstairs, so he scrolled through a few more angles to make sure the outer grounds were secure.

Nothing of note.

He closed out to the main security screen as Stefan entered the office, "Bags are upstairs."

There was a blinking notification at the bottom of the system.

Damon clicked on it.

"Do you want me to count it out," Stefan asked, "Or wait for you?"

Motion detected and documented from the far west acreage.

With a frown, he brought up the footage and skimmed through until he could see what caught the camera's attention.

"Damon?"

There was someone there, though it was hard to tell exactly who, given the distance of the camera and the location the intruder had chosen.

He zoomed as close as he could while keeping the resolution clear.

Slight form, long legs, fluid movement...whoever it was, was female, though she kept herself well hidden among the tree leaves.

There was a flash of something that made him squint at the screen.

A camera. She had a camera.

"Damon-" Stefan said his name again but he cut him off, "We have a problem."

With quick moves, he called the others down and instructed Stefan to work the security system.

"Print me a clear image of her face, and a time stamp for her arrival," he commanded, as the others came into the room, "There's been a breach. Alaric, secure the bags upstairs and head back to SINC. If the vans are being traced, I want them there."

The man nodded, and Damon motioned to the brothers, "You two, follow me."


Once outside, Damon explained what the camera had shown as they followed its trajectory to the area where the intruder had been hiding.

Mason and Lorenzo were close behind him, both with sharp eyes and a pair of twin SIGs in their hands.

He considered drawing his own weapon, but wanted his hands free when they caught whoever was stupid enough to try and stake out his house.

He had been too discreet for this to be police suspicion, which hinted toward an outlaw hire; but it was impossible to say from whom and he hated guess work anyway.

Solid answers were preferable, through whatever means it took to get them.

And if the intruder survived the questioning, they would learn the most valuable intel of all.

The length he was willing to go to protect his privacy.

However, when they came to the tree the spy had occupied, Damon was disappointed to find it bare.

"Damn it," he growled out his annoyance and scanned the area, "She's gone."

There were fresh tracks imprinted in the mud, leading through the area where the trees grew thicker, on the edge of the property's yard.

The indentions were small, but wide spaced, which meant the female was probably tall and had ran like hell on her way out.

Which indicated she might be smart, too.

"Follow the trail and call me when you discover where it ends," he told Enzo, "If you find the intruder, subdue her and wait for me."

"Yes, sir," the brothers took off across the muddied field, and Damon turned back to the house.

Stefan was waiting in the front lobby with Alaric.

"You have that picture?" he confirmed, and Stefan nodded, holding it out, "I made it as clear as I could."

Damon took the print.

What stared up at him from the page was a very gradient, black and white face.

The intruder had moved the camera down just enough that he could see her features, though none of them were familiar, and he would have remembered this face.

The woman was molto bella, enough so to be one of his highest priced working girls.

She blended to her surroundings well with dark hair and eyes, though their exact shades were indeterminable due to the image's lack of saturation.

It did not matter though; he knew what she looked like and he would find her.

And when he did, he almost hoped there was nothing noteworthy on her camera, because it would be such a waste to have to put a bullet in that pretty head.


"Your back early," Katherine called out as Elena walked into their shared house.

She turned the corner to find her sister sitting on the floor with Nadia, working a puzzle with the girl who was wearing nasal cannulas, which were attached to an oxygen tank.

"I got some info, but had a bad feeling, so I wrapped up," Elena quickly explained, setting her camera and gear bag on the table before walking into the living room, "How did the appointment go today?"

She touched the back of Nadia's head and the little girl smiled up at her.

"Good," Kat said through a tight smile, "We were very brave through the tests this morning, weren't we?"

Nadia nodded, "I got more medicine to help me breathe better, and the nurse gave me a star sticker!"

She held up her small palm, proudly displaying her prize and Elena smiled down at the girl.

It was good to see her in high spirits, but there was a flicker in her sister's eye that suggested the news received wasn't the best.

"Hey, Kat, I wanted to show you some pictures. Mind stepping over here for a sec?" she gave Katherine a pointed look that didn't go unnoticed.

"Yeah, sure," she agreed, and kissed the top of Nadia's head as she stood to Elena's height.

"Keep working on those pieces," she suggested to her daughter, "We'll be right back."

Nadia nodded, and refocused on the puzzle.

Elena led Katherine over to the dining room table; out of direct earshot.

"How bad?" she asked immediately.

Katherine shook her head, "No, it's okay. Well, not okay, but nothing worse than what we already knew. More complications because of her undeveloped lungs. The doctor thinks that she is getting bronchiolitis again, and gave me an antibiotic. We have to keep her on oxygen tonight. His main concern was getting that under control so we don't end up dealing with something worse, like pneumonia. He wants to see her again next week."

Kat sighed deeply, "Insurance covered the visit, and a percentage of the testing, so I just had to get the meds, but we're cutting into our savings now. Another infection and-"

"I know," Elena assured her, reaching out to rub her arm, "But one step at a time, remember. Today, she has what she needs. She'll get better, and hopefully we'll have time to cash in with Julian before the next episode."

This seemed to slightly reassure her twin, who offered her a weak smile, "Thanks...oh, and speaking of work, I was able to trace down that symbol you sent me, from the van."

"Yeah?"

Kat nodded and grabbed the laptop resting next to them, "Here."

She pulled up the page she had been researching, "SINC. It's a club downtown. SINfinity Night Club, to be exact."

"Hence the infinity symbol," Elena noted, "Can you write down that address for me?"

She ran the details through her brain as Kat did as she asked.

So Salvatore had links to a nightclub?

Julian had mentioned that the man was entrepreneurial, but what use would a drug lord have for a club?

Unless he was using it as his distribution site.

Of course, that could be for Julian, not in spite of him, so maybe it was irrelevant.

Or maybe it wasn't.

It was, however, worth checking out; and she was nothing if not thorough.

"You think this place needs to be looked into?" Kat asked, handing her the address.

Elena nodded, "If Salvatore is involved with it, Julian will want it vetted. I'll check it out tonight to get a feel for the place."

Kat's brow arched, "You want to take point? You hate dance clubs. You think they're loud and flashy and you're socially awkward. Are you sure you don't need me?"

"Ha. Ha," Elena rolled her eyes, "I am not socially awkward, and I can handle a few hours of loud music and bad lighting. It's just to check the place out, not to charm anyone into giving me intel, and I'm less likely to get distracted than you."

Katherine shrugged, not bothering to deny it, and Elena added, "If something feels off or is worth delving further into, we'll switch and you can scope it this weekend. Deal?"

"Deal," Kat agreed, "Though if you're going, you could at least dance one song with a cute stranger. Maybe even have some fun?"

Elena gave her a look and she smirked, "What? There's no need for both of us to be pent up and stressed out."

"It's just to look around," she reminded her twin, who promptly rolled her eyes, "Okay, but enjoying yourself wouldn't kill you."

"Well, if it did," Elena mused, "You and Nadia would at least be set with the insurance money."

Kat narrowed her eyes, "Not funny. And I'm being serious, Elena. You need to live a little."

"I live for the same thing you do," she pointed out, and the seriousness of their situation returned as they both glanced over to the little girl in the living room, "My family."

Katherine exhaled, but accepted defeat, "Alright. But at least take one of my dresses. You need to blend in if you don't want to look suspicious."

"As long as everything is appropriately covered," Elena compromised and Kat laughed softly, "Yes, grandma. Whatever you say."


:)