A/N – Ok trigger warning folks – Hayley makes an appearance, albeit a minor cameo. This took a while to write, so sorry for the delay with getting it posted. Also sorry that there's not a lot of Salvatore action in this chapter. As always, thank you for the support and love, you guys are truly amazing. Please review! I love it when you do!
IX
The plane landed two hours after take-off, the orange morning sun barely peeking out over the horizon as Klaus looked out through the small jet's window and then shifted his eyes downward at an unconscious Caroline lying beside him, her head resting on his lap. Klaus frowned slightly when he heard a quiet moan escape her lips and swiftly snapped her neck before she could awaken.
With a flirtatious smile Britney signaled that they were cleared to exit the plane. Klaus barely gave the flight attendant a second glance as he carefully picked Caroline up off his lap, cradled her in his arms, and descended down the steps. Britney followed close behind with Caroline's bag in hand.
The air was already heavy with humidity as he walked to the black SUV that awaited them on the tarmac, the driver waiting with the back passenger door open. Klaus gave the driver a curt nod before he gently laid Caroline down in the back seat, gently smoothing the black material of her dress down over her thighs and running his fingers across her pale cheek before he closed the door and moved around to the front of the SUV. Climbing into the passenger seat, he looked at the rearview mirror while the driver took Caroline's bag from Britney and put it in the trunk before climbing back into the drivers' seat.
"Home, Mr. Mikaelson?"
"Home," Klaus stated softly as he forced himself to not look back at the unconscious blonde in the backseat.
xXx
"So what's the plan?" Stefan asked as he poured bourbon into two glasses.
"Plan A, let Logan go tearing ass into New Orleans and start a fight with Klaus while we sneak in behind him and get Caroline," Damon said as he lay on the leather sofa gulping down a blood bag.
"Plan B?" Stefan asked as he crossed the distance from the bar to the couch and handed Damon one of the glasses of bourbon.
"Plan B, refer back to Plan A," Damon said, sitting up slightly as he took the proffered tumbler and gulped down the liquor just as fast as he emptied the bag of A Positive.
"What makes you so sure Klaus is taking her to New Orleans?" Stefan asked as he settled into the leather chair across from his brother.
"Well, for one, he has an army of Hybrids there. And two, where else is Klaus going to crown his Queen of Darkness?"
"Queen of Darkness?" Stefan asked with raised brow. Damon shrugged and pushed himself off the couch.
"Blondie's words, not mine," Damon said as he headed up the stairs. "Pack your bags Brother; we're leaving in an hour."
"Flying or driving?" Stefan asked as he rose from the leather chair.
"Driving. I'm not giving Klaus the chance to swoop in and try to take Blondie back while we're standing in line waiting to get through security check points," Damon half-yelled as he strode into his bedroom, pulling off his bloodied and torn shirt as he walked into his private bathroom.
xXx
Caroline groaned as she slowly came to. Her whole body ached and her stomach churned uncomfortably as she cautiously opened her eyes. The room she was in was dimly lit and Klaus' scent hung heavily in the air along with a mixture of blood, a lot of blood. Caroline's stomach churned again and the room spun around her slowly as the heady scent invaded her senses. Scrunching her eyes she struggled to focus on something to make the room stop spinning. Finally her eyes focused on a large oil canvas of a rolling countryside hanging on a wall directly across from her. Something wasn't right however as she stared at the large painting, trying to push down the waves of nausea. The artwork was upside down. Scanning the area around her, she realized everything was upside down and suddenly felt a little like Alice trapped in Wonderland.
Groaning again, she tilted her head to assess her current physical state and quickly realized it was she who was upside down, not the room. Her ankles were shackled to thick metal chains that hung from the ceiling. Her body stripped out of the black dress that she knew she was wearing only hours before, now shamefully on display in only a pair of black panties and matching bra.
As her panic quickly rose, her stomach flip-flopped once again and this time she was unable to push the wave of nausea away. Arching her back, she tried to move her arms to give herself a better position to empty her stomach but was only rewarded with a sharp cutting pain as serrated metal sliced into her wrists and forearms, tearing the skin down to her bone. Caroline let out a cry of pain and felt the bile in her stomach rise up to her throat and had no other choice but to once again arch her back as far as she could and empty the contents of her stomach onto a plastic tarp laying below her, the bile burning her throat as it exited her system causing her to almost choke on her own vomit.
"Well that's gross," said a throaty female voice that Caroline recognized immediately, even if it had been years since she had last heard it. Caroline wretched again, unable to stop the bile from leaving her system as she faintly heard the clicking of stiletto heels enter the room.
"Hayley," Caroline managed to rasp out as the brunette came into her line of sight. "Help me please." Hayley laughed out loud as she crossed her arms over her chest and ogled the blonde vampire with hatred and distaste.
"You're kidding right?"
"Where's Klaus?" Caroline asked, quickly realizing that Hayley's only purpose for being there was to revel in her own current state of helplessness.
"Out," Hayley simply stated, offering no other information as she pulled the metal chains that were bolted to the floor causing the sharp serrated clamps to once again tear into Caroline's wrists and arms making her scream out in pain.
"Why are you doing this?" Caroline cried as the scent of her own blood invaded her senses.
"I'm not," Hayley said as she gave the chains another tug. "Klaus is."
Caroline let out a guttural scream, unable to fight the pain that was crippling her, her body so weak that it was no longer able to heal itself. Hayley clicked her teeth with satisfaction as she watched the thick rivulets of blood drip from Caroline's arms onto the plastic tarp below her.
"You fucking bitch!" Caroline screeched, her fangs fully extended as she glared at the hybrid, fully prepared to spit out several more insults but stopped herself when she heard the click of a door open, then shut with a definitive slam. Hayley frowned and immediately took a step back away from Caroline, having also heard the sound of someone entering the house. Caroline took a deep breath in, trying to compose herself as best she could as Klaus' scent once again filled the room as he entered.
"Glad to see your awake Love," Klaus said as he slowly stalked his way into the room, carefully assessing the tension between Hayley and Caroline.
"Klaus, I swear to God you better get your little lap dog out of my face before I fucking rip her heart out!" Caroline yelled as she writhed against her restraints, no longer feeling the pain from the serrated metal cuffs as blind rage and hunger overcame her.
"I'd like to see you try," Hayley shot back with a smirk causing Caroline to hiss and snap her fangs.
"Now now girls," Klaus said playfully as he took a couple steps further into the room. "Play nice."
"Cunt!" Caroline screamed, looking past Klaus as he stepped between herself and Hayley.
"Whore!" Hayley shot back causing Klaus to turn sharply on his heel and face the Hybrid, his face only inches from hers.
"That's enough!" he yelled sternly causing Hayley to immediately lower her eyes to her Alpha. "There is no doubt that the Wolverine is going to be arriving here sooner rather than later so I need you and Marcel to begin patrolling the city." Hayley nodded, her eyes fixated on her feet. "You will contact me as soon as he arrives, understood?" Hayley nodded once more. "Now go before I let Caroline loose on you," Klaus finished with a smirk causing Hayley to shift slightly from foot to foot before exiting the house in a flash. Caroline watched Klaus expectantly as he slowly turned back around, focusing his attention on her once more. "How are you feeling Caroline?"
"Hungry."
xXx
Logan didn't stop; riding through the morning, afternoon, and now night as he entered the outskirts of New Orleans. The air was hot and thick with humidity though the sun had set hours ago causing a thin sheen of sweat to appear above his brow as he pulled up alongside a downtown bar called Rousseau's.
Killing the engine of his Harley, Logan wiped the sweat off his brow as he looked at the bar he had parked outside of then around at the tourists milling about on the cobbled street. New Orleans wasn't an especially large city but there were many dark corners to it that often went undiscovered. Not exactly certain on where to start, he climbed off his bike and sauntered into the small pub, the smell of liquor and smoke immediately hitting him like a hard punch. Logan's eyes scanned the occupants of the pub as he walked straight back to the bar where a pretty blonde was bartending.
"What can I get you?"
"A Bud," Logan said as he pulled out a cigar from his leather jacket and lit it.
"Bottle or draft?" asked the blonde bartender with a pretty smile.
"Bottle." The bartender nodded and went to the other end of the bar, grabbing his beer and opening the bottle.
"Four fifty sweetheart," said the blonde as she handed him the bottle.
"You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Klaus would you?" Logan asked as he pulled a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and pushed it toward her. The bartender's flirtatious smile faltered slightly as she took the bill from Logan.
"Heard of him. You a friend of his?" Logan smirked as he brought the bottle of beer to his lips and took a long swig.
"Something like that." The bartender's eyes shifted past Logan nervously causing him to turn his head slightly, noticing a dark skinned man approach the bar.
"You looking for Klaus?" said the dark skinned man with a wide grin.
"I am," Logan said as he took a drag from his cigar and puffed out the smoke directly into the man's face.
"Marcel," said the man, ignoring the smoke as he extended his hand in greeting.
"Where can I find Klaus Marcel?" Logan asked, ignoring the handshake.
"He's hard to find," Marcel responded, his wide grin still firmly plastered on his face. Logan scowled and in a flash had Marcel pinned up against the bar, his metal talons fully extended and grazing against his throat.
"Enough with the games. Take me to Klaus or I rip your head off," Logan growled.
"Ok," Marcel said, the smile never leaving his face.