*Peeked from the cave and waved*

I know it's been awhile since the last time I updated. If any of you read my other story-Blue Butterfly-you'd know that I had that rant of an Author Note I posted the other day about why I haven't been updating (I know-I know, excuses) but the summary: life had been too busy with school and my personal life and I just hadn't had the time, the energy, nor the inspiration to write anything and I do apologize for that.

I will try to update more often but I can't promise anything. The length of the chapters would obviously lessen with the tests coming up next week. The latest maybe April but I do have much to plan. Please never worry, I'd never abandon any of my stories, I wouldn't do that to you or be that irresponsible to myself.

Without further or do...

"Where the bloody hell are we going?"

Stefan pointed to a spot, not far from where they were standing. "There, Mrs. McKausky's Diner. We need to ask around to see if anyone saw anything suspicous."

Rebekah nodded at Stefan's word. "Fine, you guys get in, we'll wait outside. It looks gross."

Caroline stop on her track on the uneven sidewalk, shaking her head. "No, stop it for a minute. What are we doing here?"

"Here as here? Or here as to go inside the Diner, Caroline?" Klaus asked as he turned back to the younger blonde, annoyance clear on her face. They were standing in front of an arrangement of little shops on the bad part of Mystic Falls, with little dirty children laughing and running around not far from their left, ugly cats lying around on the ground, and citizens taking a walk on the cool fall air rather than enjoying a nice cup of tea on their backyard.

"You know what I meant," she said with a blank expression.

Stefan sighed, frown appearing on his face. "We're investigating the mass murders, Care, not some random missing person. We need to ask around, gather informations even if we got nothing. Chances are 95% of the people we talk to know nothing, but we're searching for the 5% who know." Stefan ran his hand through his hair, the gesture made him look more stressful than ever. "Why, you're bored already?"

She turned to Rebekah, seeing the other blonde shook her head to remind Caroline not to fall for Stefan's trick. She smiled in return, as if saying I got this. "What about Elijah and Katherine?"

"What about them?" Klaus shrugged.

"Aren't they going to help?"

"We never wanted your help, love. Get that straight into your mind. So why would we want Elijah and Katerina helping? Me and Stefan have this under control, I'd understand if you're too bored to help. I can have Aaron drive you and Bekah back to the house," he offered.

Rebekah groaned. "Of course we're bored. We've been going around thrift shops and old diners for hours, even went to that God-awful place you Americans call antiques shop. What were you expecting to find anyway? We should be going to the scene of the crime, not asking old people and going through dusty rooms."

"I've been to the scenes of the crime, Rebekah. They all have been wiped off. I'd taken care of the bodies and someone-don't ask, I haven't figured out who-wiped the blood-spatters clean," Stefan informed them, continuing his walk to the now-crowded diner.

Klaus hadn't known that important piece of information before and he wished he did. They could have started from there, looking at who cleaned up the mess rather than going on a wild goose-chase they hadn't even started. But he had to control his annoyance if not to blow up the facade that Stefan and him had everything under control in front of the girls. He had wanted to leave the girls back in the house but these were Caroline and Rebekah, they would have followed them if they bolted and giving both men an earful of lectures he didn't want to sentenced himself.

"Of course, we're here to find these people, maybe they saw something-"

But Caroline had cut him off. "Maybe they did but 'those' people could have compelled them to forget," she said with air quotes.

Both men knew Caroline had suspected something. Where Rebekah might follow them around, Caroline must have known that the Original Hybrid and the younger vampire would not forget the fact that humans could be compelled easily. The main part of Mystic Falls where they lived might knew about vampires and vervains but these people didn't. Caroline and Rebekah were right, they weren't going to find anything there. They weren't in the right part of town either. The six years Caroline was absent had made her forget the places in Mystic Falls, both men had counted on that fact. But they didn't want the girls help, it was too dangerous and too easily caught. While Klaus and Stefan weren't the most discreet people, they knew how to keep a low profile, Caroline and Rebekah didn't. The girls were too loud, too easily recognized.

"Maybe we should stop here today?" Rebekah suggested. "I'm tired and the sun's almost down. Let's go have dinner and discuss this in the morning but no sneaking out, okay?"

Stefan and Klaus looked at each other, wondering what they should say. It would get the girls out of their case for the night but it also meant they couldn't continue the investigation today. Reluctantly, Stefan nodded. "Yeah, that would be cool. There's a new French restaurant just outside of town that looks promosing. Why don't we try that?"

"Have you ever eaten a real French food, Stefan? Or have you ever been to France at all?" Rebekah asked acussingly.

Stefan frowned. "Of course. Just passing through Paris though, why?"

"Fine, then we'll try it. I'm a bit reluctant to what Americans called French food but since you've tasted it, then fine."

"I'm feeling more Italian today, what do you say Caroline?" Klaus suggested.

"Are we talking about five-star Italian or just regular pizza?"

"Whatever you like."

"Pizza it is then," Caroline said with a shrug, walking away to Klaus' SUV parked not far from where they're standing, her five-inch black stilettos clinked against the concrete. Klaus kept his eyes trained on her back, clad in leather and lace, accentuating her creamy long legs. It never ceased to amaze him how comfortable women these days with clothing that showed too much and walking long distance in a death trap with heels that couldn't possibly hold their balance. He wasn't complaining though, she looked amazing in them.
Noticing Klaus was distracted, Stefan had to put a hand on his back to keep the Hybrid moving. While both girls settled on the back seat, Stefan gave directions to Klaus who slid behind the wheel of the car, passing the Mystic Falls forest. The pizza shop Stefan had recommended was an hour away and before they knew it, both Caroline and Rebekah had fallen asleep with the Original's head on Caroline's shoulder.

"Yeah, this is not weird at all," Stefan muttered under his breath as he caught sight of the two blondes on the back seat.

Klaus turned his head to Stefan. "What was that mate?"

"I just never thought your sister would be all buddy-buddy with Caroline. It seems out of character, really."
Klaus sighed, catching a glimpse of them on the rear-view mirror. "Yeah well Caroline had seem out of character all day, Stefan. I don't know how they became friends or why but it's better than the constant bickering."

"You got a point there. We need to go over a few things tonight," Stefan said suddenly becoming serious.
His eyes went back to the road ahead, maneuvering the sleek black car through a mini van and a sedan.

"Have you gotten anything?"

Stefan shrugged, reaching for his phone. "I mean no huge lead or anything but anything is better than nothing right now."

"We will find something Stefan, it's just a matter of time. When was the last killing spree?"

"What do you mean?"

Klaus cut right through the red SUV in front of him, having no patient to wait for the obviously slow driver. "When was the last victim?"

"Two days ago, nothing more for now. The last two victims were different though, no blood spatter, no nothing. Their blood are not drained. They had the bite marks but I'm not sure if whoever did it drank very much."

"See? Change of methods. This person's getting sloppy," Klaus said with a smirk.

A confused Stefan dragged his eyes from his phone to the driving Hybrid. "What do you mean?"

" They tried to get it look like a drinking gone wild, blood spatters everywhere and sorts at least that's what you told me, correct?"

Stefan got defensive. "Of course it is. It's what I saw."

"Well have you ever thought maybe it's not it? We can see now that maybe it's not all about the blood. Maybe it's not all random."

"What are you suggesting?"

His smirk widened. "There's the possibility that maybe this was not vampire business, just the evidence leading to it to misled whoever could be looking. Another possibility that maybe it could be random like what you suggested, I hardly believe it, if you ask me. It's too well-orchestrate. My best guess is there's not just one group-if this is not the work of an individuals, the other trying to create a diversity," he paused, hearing a blearing horn from behind him, realizing he had slow down, ever for a bit and stomping on the gas. "Maybe even someone familiar with Caroline or with us. Someone that may or may not know me and my family are back in town but find reasons to maybe bring us back. The killing with taking little blood was my methods with Elijah, he was too well-manered to drain someone but he gave me the option of killing or not killing them. It had to be a fast death too, neck snapping or a stab wound. Sometime I even used his gun. It could be a coincidence that he knew my methods or maybe not coincidence at all."
He looked at Stefan for a response but when the younger vampire gave him none, he continued. "I never would have guessed that if you hadn't said anything but like you said, it's just the last two victims but hey, they could be starting a new pattern. The question is, if it were down to that, who would 'they' have targeted to inform me? For all people know, I'm back at the New Orleans, either at my home or at the street of the French Quarters. Who would they counted to bring the remarkable news?"

Stefan furrowed his brow. "Who do you think?"

"Well that's the answer you must find, Stefan. At least until we got another lead, let's go with my deduction. You find out who they want to use and we'll go from there."

Stefan went back to his phone again, typing furiously. "I'll ask Sheriff Forbes for all the information of the victims, who's taking the lead of the case and how many people knew. We can start digging from there."

"Perfect. Do you think Caroline's mother would provide you such information?" Klaus asked skeptically.

"The sheriff had acted like I'm her son after Caroline 'died', she was lonely and I would never refuse a mother figure."

A loud ding erupted from Stefan's phone, followed by the man wide grin. "She said she will email it as soon as she can. She's in a meeting right now."

Suddenly his phone started ringing, cutting off their conversation. Stefan started to play with his phone while Klaus reached in his back pocket to see Elijah's name lighting up the screen. He sighed before picking it up. "What do you-"

He was cut off before he could finish. "Where are you Niklaus?"

"Um, Elijah?"

He heard a deep throat chuckle. "I'm not your suit-wearing, moral-guru brother. Though I am your brother. Now the question is, which brother am I?"

"Finn?"

The line went dead.

The atmosphere at their table had been tense all night. Stefan kept glancing at his phone all night and when he wasn't doing that, he looked at his wineglass. Caroline was back being grim and cold, snapping at Rebekah every time the blonde Original talked. It took everything Rebekah knew about self-control these past thousand years to not wring the younger vampire neck.

Klaus on the other hand, had been silent all night. Caroline and Rebekah don't know why but Stefan suspected it had something to do with the weird phone call he'd received. After he hung up the phone, Klaus was dead silent. Only nodding when Stefan informed him Liz had emailed him the information. Stefan had thought nothing was wrong with that, he then called his informant to do some digging with the case Detective Mallon Briggs was working, the detective's background check and the victims list. It was the kind of work he knew Klaus wouldn't be interested in, and neither was he, so he had a guy to do it all. But then Klaus continued to be silent when the two girls had woken from their little nap, bickering all the way to the restaurant. Not even a threat came out of Klaus' mouth. It was as if he was in his own little world.

The restaurant wasn't so bad compared to the cheap bread The Mystic Piazza called pizza but Stefan had tasted better. He knew Rebekah wasn't impressed, she kept complaining about how thick the crust were, how the ham was covering the cheese and how their wine list was too narrow. Caroline didn't complain much with her pasta but she did threw her pizza at Rebekah's hair when she snapped at the other blonde. Stefan had watched Rebekah threw a fit but she didn't threw any food at Caroline. And after all of that, Klaus still didn't say anything.

The restaurant was nice enough to look at if not for the food. Deep burgundy curtains paired with hard-wood floor, the open brick walls were decorated by old pictures of Rome and small cities in Tuscany. The one near their table was a picture of the beach in Sorrento with the silhouette of a small girl walking along the shore. On the far corner of the restaurant was a small wine bar, with bottles of wine placed on the shelf behind it. Antique chandeliers stood tall above each tables, all wooden with burgundy-covered chairs. A small candle on the middle, the silverware and wineglasses already placed on the table. Some of the curtains were opened, revealing a big window with the view of a small garden. The antiqueness of the vintage furniture mixed with the bare walls and dark curtains made the place felt homey. Not exactly something one would see in Italy itself but reminded one of the city enough to miss it.

While the situation was chaotic enough, Stefan somehow missed his old life back in Italy. Where his mother would bake bread and make pasta sauce almost everyday. Where Damon was not the annoying and manipulative brother he knew now, where he hadn't known anything about the supernatural world. But then his mother had died and Guiseppe took both his sons to America, leaving Giselle Salvatore-their sister-to Stefan's uncle.

Then he'd met the beautiful Katherine Pierce and everything changed. Sometime he still wondered how different things would be if he'd never went to America, if he'd never met her, if he'd agreed to turn before Katherine had to run, if he hadn't completed his transition. Well he knew how it would end for the last part; he'd be dead. But then they were what ifs and he didn't have time to dwell with what ifs.

The irony of it came to him instantly. Vampires were immortal, they had all the time in the world and yet they were all moving as if they had a ticking time bomb on them.

He hadn't realized he'd laughed out loud until three pair of eyes eyed him curiously. "And what were you laughing about, Mr. Salvatore?"

His laughter died instantly. "Nothing, Rebekah," he said. "Actually I just thought of something?"

No one needed to ask what he thought was about but that got him three different from three different people. Klaus merely raised his eyebrow, Rebekah looked intrigued, Caroline yawned. He raised his wineglass to his lips, stalling. He did thought of something but it was a stupid idea, one that would get him in trouble with Klaus.

"I need you both to do something,"

Caroline still looked bored, Klaus seemed intrigued, Rebekah looked suspicious. "I need you to break into hospitals, check their blood supplies then burn it down wherever they keep the blood."