"Elijah? What did she say?" Rebekah came down the stairs just as her brother was getting off the phone.
Elijah held up a piece of paper. "I've got a name. I think it's our scientist. Everything fits the profile. He's well educated in genetics and in the medical field. He was recently exonerated from the school due to using the equipment for experiments with different virus strains."
Rebekah's eyes perked up. "That sounds like our scientist. It has to be!"
"I believe so Rebekah. The doctor I just spoke with said that she had sat in on a few of his classes and he had an unusual obsession with the dead and with the supernatural." Elijah said clearly.
"How much do you want to bet, Elijah, that if this isn't our man, that there is a very good chance he knows who is?" She stood up tall as she put the idea into words.
"I would dare bet that there is beyond a good chance. Now if we can just get to him in time." He looked down at his phone and rubbed it between his fingers.
"What are you thinking about Elijah? Or should I ask who?" Rebekah watched her brother in a wary manner.
"We can't leave Rebekah, so we need to have someone else that we're okay with doing this meeting and possibly doing some of our dirty work. It's a lot to ask of Cami considering the human factor." Elijah continued fingering his phone with his brows deeply furrowed in thought.
"It's probably safest for her. If any supernatural creature tries to confront him it puts them in even more danger. You know this brother." Rebekah reminded him.
"If anything happened to her, Rebekah, we'd have the wrath of our brother upon us. Do you really want to deal with that again?" Elijah returned the reminder.
Rebekah stared blankly at her brother, weighing out the heaviness of his words. "Who else do we have, Elijah?"
He pulled his gaze up and swallowed hard. His expression gave away his every thought to his sister. He couldn't hide what his backup plan would be.
"No, Elijah." Rebekah said simply. "You can not get Katarina involved. If something happens to her, you would never forgive yourself."
"What other choice do we have Rebekah?" Elijah's voice cracked. "How long will we really be able to hold out until we become as weak as Niklaus? How long will we be able to stay strong enough to fight Tyler Lockwood? Sacrifices have to be made."
"You are beginning to sound like our brother. Elijah, you are not Niklaus! Do not pretend to be just as vicious and brutal as making a decision like he would." Rebekah stepped closer to her brother and watched him carefully.
"Niklaus knows the sacrifices that have to be made in situations such as these. What good would I be to Katarina if I were dead? She can protect herself. She has from Niklaus for centuries." Elijah said patiently. The worry was in his eyes, but he clearly was determined that that was the only other way that he could think of.
"There has to be another way. Another person that we trust perhaps?" Rebekah knew what her brother was like when he was overwhelmed with guilt. It was equally as bad as when Klaus was in a mood, if not worse.
"Who do we know that we can say that we trust enough with our lives, Rebekah?" Elijah stared at her point blank. There was no time and no room to doubt his plan. He had to go through with it.
"Do what you must Elijah. I won't stand in your way." As if to prove her point, she stepped back a few steps. "Save our family."
Elijah could sense her uncertainty, but he had no choice in this matter. He couldn't risk Cami's life for this job. He pulled his phone up and looked carefully at it. He knew Katarina's phone number by heart, but he still chose to take the time to look it up in his contact list. Every second he wasted was one more second that he knew she was safe; yet every second that he wasted meant one more second closer to losing his family. He clicked send on the number that he had found for her.
"Elijah, my love! To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Katarina's soft voice rang over the other end of the phone. "Did you finally decide to come and meet up with me?" She laughed, full well knowing the dedication that he had to his family.
He swallowed hard, not prepared for the enthusiasm in her voice when she heard him. That had been an area that had been lacking in their home."I need to ask a favor, Katarina."
"Ah, one of the Original Vampires asking me for a favor. I must have really done something right." She joked with him.
"This is a serious matter Katarina." Elijah couldn't listen to her cheeriness any longer. It was contagious to hear her teasing voice. It was distracting.
"Elijah? What's wrong?" Her voice grew serious rather quickly. She honed all of her hearing power toward what he had to say.
"I want you to know Katarina that you do not have to agree to help me. You do not have to do what I am asking of you." He warned her to begin with. It was all that he could do to help ease his mind.
"Name it Elijah. I'll do it." She said her dedication without wavering. "Anything for you."
"Niklaus has been infected with a virus. It feeds on a vampire's body until they become human again. It tortures a vampire to revert to its original form and quite possibly back to its current state. It's highly contagious, Katarina." He paused for a moment.
"Elijah, do you have it?" Worry thickened her voice. "Tell me the truth."
Elijah watched Rebekah for a moment. Her eyes caught his and held them – waiting for the honest truth herself. "Not yet my love." He answered honestly. "But I have been in contact with the virus and I do not know how long before it begins to affect me as well."
"But you're an original. It can't kill you." She reasoned with him. "Can it?"
"I don't know, but I know that if we don't find a cure we'll be in a weakened state. If the virus doesn't kill us, our enemies surely will." He told her grimly.
"Let me come to you, Elijah. Let me be with you." Katarina began to beg him. She didn't care about his answer; she'd find a way to be with him.
"There's a professor that I need you to go and see, Katarina. We need to find out who started this virus. It could only be someone that is human." Elijah went over the facts that he knew.
"All the more easier for me to rip his throat out." Katarina said angrily.
"That honor has is being left to Niklaus at the moment, but believe me my dear, we will have our revenge too." Elijah said with clear certainty. He gave her the information to where she needed to go and whom she needed to see. It was all that he could do for the time being. He wished that he could be with her.
"I got it, Elijah. Stay alive for me." She said quietly, but clearly.
"I will do my best. Just stay safe, okay?" He listened for any hints of uncertainty in her voice, but there was none.
"I can handle myself. I have for centuries. I love you with all of my heart." Her voice echoed her honesty and her emotion.
"I love you too, Katarina. Godspeed." He said, holding onto the phone for as long as he could before hearing her hang-up.
"Elijah…" Rebekah's gaze showed her sympathy.
"I want to be alone for a little while, Rebekah." He walked numbly away from her. His phone was being nearly crushed under his tight grip. He had to think about some things. He had to regain his focus and his composure. He had to ignore his sudden feelings and urges. He had to stay strong.