Chapter 1: Of Worry and Payment

Damon Salvatore sat on the railing of his balcony, a tumbler of scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other. Although, his habit of drinking and smoking had died down when Elena had come into his life. She had come up to him, snatched the cigar right from his mouth, threw it on the floor and stomped on it to put it out. When he shouted in protest, she replied, "Those things will kill you."

Damn, is she going to be pissed at me..

He weakly chuckled. Right. She wasn't even here.

No. She was lying on a cold, metal operating table. He should be there at the door, waiting for the second she was brought out, but everything about that place made him sick. He couldn't stand the thought of her being poked and probed by a bunch of butchers. Instead, he imagined she was out with those annoying friends of hers. What were their names? Camilie and Brenda?

Damon took a large gulp of scotch, the amber liquid traveling down his throat like acid. It was comforting.

The sky was lit up by a large, full moon. She loved the moon. Would spend hours upon hours staring out the window, until the moon disappeared and was replaced by the sun. It was one of the things he admired the most about her. Elena, unlike other women, was not possessed by wordly trinkets. Her interests lay in the sky and the world above ours.

I need to stop thinking about her. He took a long drag of his cigar. It was going to be a long night.

The strong, rancid odor of sweat and sex hung over the club like a heavy fog. Testosterone and Estrogen mixed in the air, probably from all the fucking going on in the back rooms. Stefan sat alone at a clean table, a simple glass of sparkling water in his hands. Hookers eagerly shed clothing on the small stage and men cheered as he watched the carnal scene with glee. Checking his watch, he grunted in disapproval.

Alex is late again. That fucking bastard always keeps me waiting.

Stefan had known Alex for years now, ever since she left. Alex was the only one there, when he wasn't. Alex wasn't only his hitman, he was his friend. And to celebrate their success, they made plans to meet each other here.. But Alex was late, and Stefan was getting impatient.

"My man!" Someone called out from behind him in a gruff voice which Stefan recognized as Alex's.

"Thought you weren't going to show up,"

"Stef, you know how bitches are," Alex sat down beside the irate Stefan and called a waitress over to order a drink. A half naked girl quickly came and left, but not before being groped by Alex's wandering hand. Stefan scowled in distaste and took a sip of his water.

"Understatement of the year. What happened this time?"

The hitman shrugged, "Caroline was just being clingy again. If she wasn't so great in bed I would've dumped her ass a long time ago."

"Why not? I did." Stefan stated, looking down at his empty glass.

"Yeah, but that was only because of her.. wasn't it?"

The glass shattered under pressure. There were shards embedded to Stefan's skin, but he didn't seem to mine as he plucked them without a wince.

Alex grimaced, "Sorry, man. I should know better than to bring her up.."

"No. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about… You did a good job, Alex. Her face was totally fucked up. Too bad you couldn't see it. You should've seen his face."

Both friends laughed.

"Yeah, it is too bad," Alex replied, taking his drink from a scantily clad woman. "She had a pretty face, though. Nice body. You should've just let me rape her, instead."

Stefan paused in taking out the last shard. "I don't like others touching what is mine."

"Stef, she isn't-"

He suddenly stood, glaring at his 'friend'. "She will be, one way or another."

Alex downed the contents of his glass with a frown.

"I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry…"

Stefan shook his head, "Whatever, man. I need to leave anyways. I'll see you around." He turned his back and walked away, not looking back once at Alex.

That was weird… Hitman thought, but waved over a waitress for another drink.

Detective Forbes looked up at the corpse. The murder was set to have happened somewhere between one in the morning and three in the morning. Evidence of struggle was apparent, a lot of struggle. The murderer had taken his time. Forbes sighed, wondering how the hell she was going to explain to her daughter that her boyfriend was found gutted and hanged from a hook in the back of a sleazy night club, with his dick out and a condom in place.

End Notes

I don't usually do the whole "several chapters in one day" but I was eager to get this one out because it has plot, and the prologue didn't. Alex is my character, because I didn't want to kill off Tyler, who doesn't even exist in this story. Or maybe he will? Hm. Anyways, since FFnet is now enforcing their "no sexually explicit content" policy, this story will have no lemons. Well, maybe I'll do a little something-something and post it up on mediaminer. This is rated M for strong language, violence, and some sexual content. No lemons. As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, so do me the favor and please review so that my muse doesn't go poof like last time.

Until next time,

Carrie