Even the mornings seemed brighter in the south. All sorts of brilliant shades of orange, red and yellow filtered in through Bella's east-facing window. The agent contentedly stretched a bit, then swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit up, making a mental plan of her day for herself. She got quickly dressed in jeans, a grey shirt, and black leather jacket then got her laptop out to research the locations of real estate agencies in the vicinity.
With all the vampire activity in the area, she really wanted to move away to another district, but the NCIS office was in the French Quarter too. Lucky that they were only called to Navy-related cases or inevitably they would have caught onto to the supernatural happenings by now. Let's just hope they were just as clueless as she was assuming. In any case, if she wanted to make sure they stayed that way she had to find a place reasonably close by so that she could intervene when necessary. Acting as a supernatural police force had never been among her plans, so the situation was rather uncomfortable for her.
The brunette studied the online map a bit longer, memorizing it all, then got her purse and strolled out of her room. The compound was awfully quiet. Either everyone liked to sleep in, or they were already out, attending to whatever business thousand-year-old beings who were no longer part of the human world had to attend to. Remembering Klaus's weirdly concerned comment about her running off, she wrote a quick note informing them where she went and left it on one of the nails sticking out by the doorframe. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of vampires tracking her by her scent around town.
After the wild night of partying in the quarter, the city was still asleep at this hour, only a few early risers could be seen, hurrying off to work. As she walked along Bourbon Street, the whiff of delicious pastries flitted by her nose, and on a sudden whim, she entered the bakery. There she bought herself a cinnamon roll and re-exited to the street, munching on her new purchase. She was infinitely grateful that she could still enjoy human food without having to throw it back up later. And they still tasted delicious to her. Another bonus point to vampires versus cold ones.
Finding an affordable but still nice condo was just as much of a struggle as in D.C., Bella had to admit after the tenth shitty place the real estate agent showed her under the price of $800. The hybrid really didn't want to resort to the same methods as back home, but they weren't really giving her a choice. She let the red-haired woman bump up the search to the $1000-1500 range, and she would just have to "renegotiate" the price directly with the owner. Unfortunately, by this time, the lady's workday was up, and they could only resume the apartment hunt on Monday afternoon. Klaus would be so thrilled that he could have her another few days…
The streets were noticeably busier than early in the day, pubs opening and saxophone melody pouring out yet again. On her way back, she happened to walk by the black wrought iron gate of the NCIS office on St. Ann Street (ironically enough located just by the Boutique du Vampyre costume shop) so she decided to head in to say hi and save herself the awkward introductions on her first day. If their office conduct back at the Navy Yard was anything to go by, people would still be around at 6 PM, Friday or no Friday.
From the yard, the entrance was located to her right, leading into the pale green building with the dark green balconies and shutters.
"Knock, knock. I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Bella greeted the lone female agent by the desk on the ground floor. She purposefully pulled her jacket back so that her badge would be showing and she wouldn't be confused for someone just off the street.
"How can I…" the short African American girl started before noticing the badge. "You must be the new girl. Agent Swan, right?"
"The very same, but just call me Bella," she shook the other woman's hand when a heated conversation from upstairs hit her ears. Probably not loud enough for her fellow agent to catch so she forced herself to not look up in the direction of the sound.
"Sonja Percy," the other agent introduced herself.
"Look I can't stop you if you are really set on quitting, I'd just like to know why?" Dwayne asked Meredith.
Bella recognized the male voice as the team leader of the New Orleans office.
"I know I gave no notice, but I just can't stay here, Pride. Besides I'm not really leaving you in a pinch, you already have a new agent who could take my place," Agent Brody evaded answering the question.
"Is this a bad time?" the hybrid inquired, feeling like she was intruding on some private moment.
"We just finished a case so not really. LaSalle already took off, but Brody and Pride have been up there for the past half an hour," Sonja revealed with a worried glance towards the upper office. "Between you and me, I think she is quitting."
"Your replacement isn't the issue here," – King sighed after a few moments.
"Again, sorry. I just can't do this job anymore," Meredith reiterated with a bit of distress evident in her voice.
Sounded like she was quitting law enforcement altogether.
"Is this about what happened at Great Lakes?" he inquired in a softer tone.
"How do you know?" Bella asked despite the fact that she knew precisely Sonja was right.
"Call it female intuition. She'd been kind of agitated all month, and with the case closed and you coming I think she found the perfect moment to bail," Agent Percy shrugged, crossing her arms.
"No, but I'd rather not talk about it. I better get going, bye," the woman shut the conversation down.
Bella heard some rustling of papers, probably the female agent's resignation letter as it hit the desk.
"Let's not judge her hastily, she must have a good reason to quit," the slightly taller brunette suggested. She too had done something similar back in D.C. only yesterday. Although, yes, she didn't quit altogether just the Major Case Response Team.
"I ain't no judging, just sayin'," the black girl remarked with a bit of sass. Bella liked her already.
Meredith just then reached the stairs at the side, coming down in a hasty pace.
"Oh… hi," she came to a sudden halt when she noticed the new girl and deduced her identity correctly. Maybe she had seen her picture in a file or something. "We thought you were only coming on Monday."
"Got into the city earlier, and just wanted to stop by," Bella replied to the short dark brown haired agent. It was clear to her that Brody had wanted to avoid meeting her. "Bella Swan," she said, offering her hand for a shake to her too.
"Meredith Brody. Sorry, but I've got to go. Bye, Sonja."
And with that, she bolted out of there faster than a bat out of hell.
"Well, that was a bit awkward," the newcomer sighed with wide eyes.
"Don't take it personally. If you'd like to know I'm glad you are here. You have quite the reputation among the agents," Sonja nonchalantly mentioned as she leaned back against her desk.
"Really?" the hybrid quirked a brow at that.
"Yeah, don't you know? You have the best case solving ratio in the history of the agency at 99.9%," the short woman enthused like a teenager who just met the lead singer of her favorite band.
Not a 100%?
"Oh yeah, there was that McDougal case a year or so ago that we couldn't crack," she recalled. The captain had gone missing on leave from the port. She had tracked his scent to the waterfront a mile from where he was last seen. He had probably gotten on a boat, but since there were no indication of either kidnapping or desertion (he had a spotless record, and neither of his crew members knew of any problems he might've had, also there weren't any ransom notes or calls), nor could they find his body or any evidence, the case went cold. The missing person's case was still open but was handed off to another team.
"Seriously? One unsolved case?" Sonja gasped incredulously.
"Yup," Bella shifted uneasily from one foot to another, her hand in her pockets, hoping very much that she wouldn't inquire how she had managed that. Far superior vampire senses were the key.
"Teach me, Sensei!" the fairly new NCIS agent bowed to her, and thankfully before it could get any more uncomfortable Pride boomed down noisily on the stairs.
"Oh, hey! Agent Swan, we didn't know that you'd be here already," he greeted, masking his frown at his earlier exchange with his former employee with a polite smile.
"Please, call me Bella. I just got into town. Wanted to say hi," the vampire shook his hand.
"Good, good. I'm guessing you ran into Brody on her way out?" The troubled look returned to Dwayne's face.
"Yeah, that I did. She was kind of in a hurry," Bella admitted, careful to not reveal that she knew a bit more than she was supposed to.
"Yes, well. She just quit," he informed them. At least one problem out of the way, she didn't need to pretend anymore.
"Told you so," the tiny woman commented to Bella with a meaningful emphasis.
"Less gossip girls and more reports!" the team leader chided with a shake of his head.
"Yes, Sir!" Sonja snapped to attention at once, returning to her desk.
"I'll leave you to it," the new team member decided it was time to make her exit.
"Bella, could you come up for a moment to have a word?" Pride stopped her, beckoning her upstairs.
"Sure," she relented. She shot a questioning gaze to Sonja behind the senior agent's back as she followed him, but she just shrugged, having no clue what this could be about.
"Don't worry, I don't bite," he chuckled once they were in his office and he closed the door on themselves, gesturing for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. His workstation was in a state of controlled chaos, and that was putting it mildly.
"I sure hope not," Bella allowed herself a small laugh in response, although couldn't help but wonder if there was an underlying meaning to that comment.
"Look, you've been an agent for quite some time now, based on your records a pretty damn fine agent at that, so you'll probably notice some odd occurrences in town soon enough," the team leader began his monologue uneasily.
Oh, fuck no, Bella thought. She had a suspicion where this was going.
"Sometimes there are inexplicable disappearances and deaths, nothing pertaining to the Navy so far, but reports from the local police do make it my way on occasion. If you happen to run into something like this, please come to me first before putting it in an official report to HQ," Dwayne went on to say that raised all sorts of red flags for the hybrid, professional and otherwise.
What in the seventh circle of hell?! Don't tell me the NCIS office was under the thumb of the Mikaelsons? What about the police? Other federal agencies? How much did they know? Were they aware of the supernatural world? Vampires? Was he onto me already?
"I'm not sure I follow, Boss," the agent frowned, crossing her arms, pretending to play dumb and dismayed by the mere idea of skipping official procedure.
"All I'm saying is, keep your eyes and ears open, and if you stumble upon something seemingly impossible, talk to me. I've been trying to piece together this mystery for a good three years now. I could use all the help I can get," Pride told her. That time frame coincided with the return of the originals to town if her information was correct.
Huh, maybe not then, he was just too insightful for his own good. Maybe Brody's sudden departure had something to do with the supernatural also. She could've unintentionally happened upon something nasty and was fleeing to save herself.
"Do all your new team members get this creepy, cryptic talk or I'm just singled out for some reason?" she knew she was treading dangerous waters here because she couldn't imagine why Pride would confide something like this to a newcomer. Unless he was trying to trick her into revealing something unintentionally. That worked both ways, although Bella couldn't read him, much like Gibbs he had an excellent grip on his reactions. Even his heartbeat told her nothing.
"LaSalle has been here long enough to catch on, yes," the team leader nodded, confiding in her. Again, was this some sort of trap? If she started asking him questions, it would surely get back to Dwayne.
"What about Brody? Or Percy?" the vampire inquired further.
"No." There went her theory about Meredith bailing because of supernatural involvement. Well, at least as far as Pride knew. His heartbeat didn't indicate lying. Theoretically, she could have "stumbled upon" the issue all by herself if it really was that prominent around here as Dwayne claimed it to be, and was just too freaked out to confide in anyone.
"Then I really don't understand. I haven't even started yet, why tell me?" she leaned back in her chair, oozing doubt about his intentions.
"Like I said, you are a bright agent. I can't imagine you not noticing soon enough. I just wanted to give you a heads up."
Again a sort of non-answer.
What load of bull crap. Bella didn't like this, not one bit. She already had enough on her plate without having to be extra careful around her new team leader.
"Thanks… I guess…" the vampire sighed, utilizing that natural and unsuspicious chance to take a big whiff of air to discern if he was on vervain or had any on him based on smell. Not as far as she could tell. Promising. If he had known enough about vampires, he would have taken that precaution. But she still didn't know if that was the issue they were dancing around. "Can you at least tell me what you think this mystery is?"
"Without sounding crazy? Probably not. Come to me once you have seen it, then we can discuss without you wondering if I need to be locked up," the senior agent smirked, knowing full well how that sounded. Yet again, Bella was wondering what the real purpose of this talk was.
"Okaaay… although kind of hard to know when 'I've seen it' if I don't even know what I'm looking for," she decided to steer back to the clueless and unsettled façade. That would have been the natural response to something like this. Scratch that. Quitting on the spot would have been the sane option. Who springs a welcome talk like this on anyone?
"Trust me, you'll know," he looked at her meaningfully.
Trust me, I won't tell you anything if this is really about the supernatural world like I think it is…
"Alright, Boss. Is that all?" Agent Swan decided that it was too risky to try compulsion at the moment and there really wasn't any point in inquiring further without it. Sometimes she wondered if being a vampire had already made her cold and immune to certain human morals. Her mask of carefully construed lies was so perfect that it scared her sometimes. She could think whatever on the inside, and no one would be wiser on the outside if she really put her mind to it. And for whatever reason, using compulsion didn't seem like that big of a transgression against privacy like full on mindreading did to her. Maybe because she didn't go around forcing the truth out of random people.
"Have you found a place to stay yet?" he asked. Ah, finally a normal people question.
"On it. Till then a friend is putting me up," Bella replied, happy and relieved that soon this talk was over. Did I really just call Klaus a friend? While it fit perfectly in the context, she wasn't particularly trying to make it sound like it.
"Good. Let me know if you need any help. Getting to know the town or anything. I'm sure the others would be glad to give a tour too," Pride smiled encouragingly as he stood from his desk, the vampire followed suit.
"Thank you for offering, but I've got that covered too," the hybrid shook her head slightly with one of her own.
"Then have a nice weekend and welcome to the team," Pride dismissed her.
"Good to be here," she said out of politeness, but truth be told she began to wonder just what kind of mess she had landed herself into. Times were much simpler when she was on her own, and she didn't have to juggle the expectations of the supernatural world alongside her professional duties.
"Ah, Bella love, you are back!" Klaus greeted her the moment she stepped through the huge entrance, along with the rest of the family. "Care to join us for dinner?"
Her paranoia had her take multiple detours and side streets from the NCIS office back to the Abattoir, just to make sure she wasn't followed. Then she very carefully observed parking cars, windows or any place where someone might be set up as surveillance in the vicinity. Unfortunately, she could do nothing about potential recording devices, especially the cameras on the streets or public properties. It might have seemed irrational – although a great exercise in getting to know the French Quarter – but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe that talk was a threat or warning, depending on whether her new team leader believed she was one of them or not. But how could he? Not knowing just how far Dwayne had connected the dots was killing her.
"Yeah, in a moment, but we have to talk first," Bella stormed past everyone grabbing the werewolf hybrid by the hand – to both of their surprise – and towed him towards the far end of the compound through multiple corridors to have some semblance of privacy. She knew if any of the originals wanted to they could easily eavesdrop and she couldn't expect any sort of courtesy from them not to do so like from Stefan. In either case, sooner or later they would have to be informed too.
"Why do I get the feeling that I am in trouble?" he inquired with a massive smirk on his face, very much enjoying their close contact, especially since it was given without any prodding from him.
"Seriously, when are you not in trouble for one thing or another?" the brunette peered up at him with a challengingly raised brow.
"Fair point," the Original chuckled, his grin growing even wider. He looked like a mischievous child just caught red-handed.
"I'm just going to cut to the chase. I went by the NCIS office this afternoon. And my new boss had a very bizarre talk with me. Tell me, how long you guys have been back in New Orleans?"
Fact checking came first, and though correlation did not mean causation, in this case, she was pretty confident the two went hand in hand.
"Three years or so," Klaus replied, not quite sure where this was going yet.
"That's what I thought. Look, I have no idea what you been up to, but you need to be more discreet. Some police reports about odd disappearances and deaths have made it to even NCIS. I got the feeling that they have no idea what's really going on, and hopefully, they have no clue of supernatural involvement, but whatever you are doing that is raising all these red flags has to stop. Or you will be found out. Me too if I keep associating with you!" she rushed through her words agitatedly, poking the werewolf hybrid in the chest to emphasize her point.
"Having an all-out war with just about any supernatural community in the city answers your question?" the dark blond vampire laughed out.
He actually had the audacity to laugh in this situation!
"Oh for fuck's sake…" Bella threw her hands up in the air in frustration and took a step back from him. "What are we talking about? Witches, vampires, werewolves?"
"In that order. Multiple factions of each," the Mikaelson brother watched her in amusement.
A string of mental profanities was stirring in her mind, and she started pacing the room, trying to calm herself down. Getting dragged into the middle of this was the last thing she wanted.
"Is it still ongoing?" the agent asked finally with a sigh when she deemed that she could speak without totally flipping out.
"Not that I know of. Unless they are plotting something against me behind my back again," Klaus shrugged. He would act the instant he got whiff of anything going on, but he believed he had the city reasonably under control by now.
"Well, at least that's something," Bella conceded, finally stopping her pacing, although she didn't like the situation, not one bit.
"Except…" he uneasily started to broach the next subject.
"You are about to drop a bombshell on me, aren't you?" the vampire hybrid was already filled with a sense of dread.
"We have a problem with an Upgraded Original vampire, Lucien Castle."
"I think the better question is what problem he has with you," she pointedly remarked. Though she didn't know what "upgraded" Originals were, she could guess that they promised nothing good.
"I am quite fond of how that head of yours works," the Original stepped closer to the girl, pulling her closer to himself, his hand around her waist.
"Enough with the sweet talk and spill it already," the agent huffed with a no-nonsense attitude, utterly unimpressed by the diversion tactics.
"All right," Klaus sighed and began his tale. "He was the first vampire I, or any of us, had ever turned over a millennium ago. Going into detail about the many grievances he has against me is quite pointless, but he won't stop until he has killed me that is for sure. The problem is, Upgraded Original vampires possess superior strength to us due to the reverse engineered Immortality Spell, and his venom can kill us too. He had already killed someone very dear to me."
The conversation she overheard last night came to Bella's mind, and her heart dropped.
"Camille?" she asked in a small voice.
"How? Never mind," he shook his head. He should've known that she had overheard them. They weren't exactly quiet about it, right in front of her door no less. With her intellect, it was no wonder she put the pieces together. "Yes. She was bitten by Lucien, and even my blood can't cure the mixture of venom derived from seven werewolf packs."
The brunette stepped back from their embrace, her face in a cold mask. Why did I ever think he could actually care about me? It was never about love or romance, and I should have known. I knew all along, I suspected that something else was up. Then why the hell did I let hope blossom in my heart?
"This is the real reason you dragged me here, isn't it? You think I'm immune to werewolf venom, or stronger than him, or something. You want me to avenge your dead girlfriend for you," the vampire hybrid accused, trying very hard to control her emotions, not letting them spill over.
"It's not…" the original tried to protest.
"Not what I think? Save your breath, I don't want to hear it." And with that, she stormed out of the room before he could see her face.
"Bella!" Klaus called after her, but there was no stopping her.
She ran right past the rest of the Original family in the inner courtyard, their faces stunned when they saw her tears.
"Dinner?" Freya tried, perplexed as to what could have happened.
"Not hungry," the girl muttered under her breath, knowing that at least some of them surely heard it. She had lost all her appetite.
Bella took the stairs three at a time then locked herself in her borrowed room. She hastily wiped the few tears that had escaped from her eyes from her cheeks.
Why was she so upset? Crying even? It's not like she didn't expect that there was a catch to all this. She knew that the other shoe would fall eventually. Maybe she was hoping it would be a little later, that she could have some pretense of normalcy and peace before the shit hit the fan again. Was she jealous of a dead woman? Not really. Nor was Klaus in any way hers. Just the whole way this had been packaged and presented to her, wrapped in the illusion of courting, the deception of it all. When was she going to find out about all this if it weren't for the fact that Pride's words spooked her? Why did she even feel the need to warn the youngest Mikaelson brother about this?
Those and a thousand other questions whirled around in her mind. Some time later there was a knock on her door, Klaus asking if he could come in, checking the handle and finding it locked when there was no answer, but otherwise didn't force his company on her as she stood by the window, watching the people on the streets while she mulled over every facet of the issue.
Being used bothered her. How possibly could Klaus even know if she was immune to werewolf venom, much less to that deadly concoction of different ones the Upgraded Originals could secrete? A laugh bordering on hysteria escaped her. Well, Damon would probably get his wish soon enough. He wanted Tyler to test out if werewolves could penetrate her skin, now Klaus would have to do it, with his antidote blood right there handy if it went all sideways.
There was just one small problem. She didn't fully trust that he would give it to her. Not without some strings attached. And what if her hybrid physiology left her poisoned but incurable? Of the many ways, she could go, dying by an experiment gone wrong would be humiliating. She could already see Pride's face before her when he came to investigate the disappearance of his subordinate, who hadn't even started on the job yet. Because sure as hell there wouldn't be a body for them to do an autopsy on.
A risk she would have taken any day for her friends, but who was she exactly protecting now? Not them that's for sure. Who were the Mikaelsons to her to demand something like this from her? Not even requesting it, more like tricking her into acting in their best interest. And yet if she wanted to live in peace, she would have to do it. For all intents and purposes, this was her city now too, and she couldn't just uproot herself again so soon if she wanted to keep her current lifestyle and line of work.
Bella knew she had behaved childishly, but couldn't really care. In a sense, she had all the power over the situation right now. Ultimately, they depended on her and her decision if they wanted a fighting chance. She absentmindedly looked at her phone to check the time. 11 PM. Plenty of time left to get the ball rolling tonight.
She unlocked her door and found that someone had left her a plate of food. As far she heard only Klaus had come by, although she wasn't paying much attention. A puzzlingly sweet gesture. Even if she still wasn't hungry.
The brunette picked the plate up and headed downstairs. No one seemed to be around, so she just put the food in the fridge. She got herself a glass of water, and while she sipped on it, she heard the noise of feminine steps coming her way. When she turned around, she found Rebekah in the doorway, appraising her with a stink eye.
"Look who had finished sulking," the blonde nastily remarked.
What is her problem? Bella decided not to deign to answer the provocation, turning her attention back to the water and taking a large sip.
"What? Now you think you are better than everyone else? Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the female Original shrieked in outrage, not used to being ignored.
"Sorry, I'm not in the business of giving bullies what they want," the agent replied, deciding it was best to exit the situation, abandoning her glass in the sink. Thankfully the kitchen had an opening on both sides.
Rebekah whipped to the other side in vampire speed, cutting off her exit.
"I have no idea what my brother sees in you. A young little brat with no manners or respect," Rebekah sized her up with a look of disdain.
"I think you are in confusion about the situation here. I'm not in pursuit of Klaus, he was the one who forced me to come here," Bella tried to step around her, but the other girl blocked her by grabbing the door frame in front of her.
"Do you think I'm blind or something? You are falling for him, and hard. Just don't whine when you are left on the street once he is done with you," she spat, trying to stare her down.
"Move. Out. Of. My. Way," the agent pronounced every syllable separately to emphasize her point. Her blood was boiling, Rebekah's words were right on target about her fears. It had been done to her once already.
"Or else?" the blonde mocked.
And that was when Bella snapped and pinned her to the door frame with practiced ease, keeping the Original's arm behind her back in an awkward and painful angle. Rebekah struggled as hard as she could against the brunette's hold, but couldn't even budge her. Realization started dawning on her that she had picked the wrong vampire to mess with.
"What the hell?" the Original exclaimed in disbelief.
"I am not going to say this twice. You don't want to pick a bone with me. Now, I can go on and pretend that the last few minutes never happened, but if you so much as look at me the wrong way again, there will be consequences…" Bella hissed in her ear menacingly, too low for anyone farther than the hall to make out her words, even with enhanced hearing.
"What is going on here?" Elijah appeared suddenly by their side, demanding an explanation for his sister's predicament.
"Nothing. I was just showing Bekah a very handy move to immobilize opponents," the agent let go of the girl. "Even if we are one of the strongest creatures on Earth it never hurts to learn proper self-defense. We girls must stick together, am I right?"
The brunette looked over at Rebekah expectantly, eager to find out how she would react.
"Absolutely. Women are always taken lightly. We need to have a certain edge, especially with the dangers we are facing now," she said after a beat, the bewildered look melting away from her face into a careful mask.
Elijah regarded both of them with suspicion, but let the matter go.
"Is Klaus still up?" Bella inquired, maybe a tad too cheerfully.
"He is in the art room. Right corridor, second door on the left after the far end corner," the Original, clad in a well-tailored suit even at this late hour gave her the direction.
"Thanks," she said then left them, trying very hard to hide her exhilaration.
Holy cow! I just overpowered an Original!