ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [4]

XIV • MOONLIGHT ON THE BAYOU

fourteen. moonlight on the bayou

The Armory Headquarters

Bonnie, Damon and Rosie have just arrived at the main headquarters of the Armory organization in the older vampire's royal blue Camaro. The building looks more like a moderately-sized castle, and Rosie is in the middle of checking her cell phone when the trio get out of the parked vehicle and look around their new, unfamiliar surroundings. She looks clearly, undeniably concerned by what she's just learned through her delivered text messages, "Valerie said she just lost cell reception with Stefan."

Damon's voice is bitter and worried when he replied, "As if ruining his life wasn't enough for me to worry about, now we get to wonder when you and Valerie exchanged numbers, considering you both have a thing for him."

Bonnie scoffs at the casual mention, which reminds her of the days when Rosie and Elena were in the same situation with Damon two years ago.

"You told Stefan you would find a way to get him off the hook with Rayna, and you told me you'd make sure you didn't screw it up. So, we both have a lot riding on this, okay?" Rosie leveled them both, "We're even."

Rosie, Damon and Bonnie walk up, side by side, to the main front door, which Enzo opens to greet them on the massive front porch, "Good. You made it." He turns and jerks his head toward the door to indicate that they should follow him inside; once they walked through the door, they enter a series of large rooms full of old, antique furniture and glass cases full of ancient artifacts; the trio look around with both curiosity and suspicion.

"Where the hell are we?" Damon asked his Augustine best friend.

"This is The Armory, home to a society of supernatural artifact collectors. We keep them under lock and key so they don't fall into the wrong hands."

Rosie nods in understanding, intrigued by the collections, "I see."

Damon picks up a metal mask resting on one of the stands and scoffs at the introduction, "The Armory...Never heard of it." He looks over at Bonnie and Rosie, who seem just as clueless, innocently, "You two?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes before she and Rosie replied in unison, "No."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point. They've taken great care to keep themselves out of history as we know it." Enzo said, amused how clueless they are.

Damon's smug voice takes on a mocking tone as he, Rosie and Bonnie continue to look around curiously at the huge room they're in, "And, for three easy payments of $19.99, we too, can be members."

Rosie gives Enzo an annoyed look before she walks over to face him in a grim manner, with no mood for jokes, "How about we just cut to the part where they can save my boyfriend? Where's the cavalry?"

"They're out on their own supernatural treasure hunt. But lucky you, they've recruited me to nab Rayna Cruz." Damon scoffs, that both Rosie and Bonnie share a look before the duo give him a look that says that they're not trusting his explanations, "Ever since that annoying Phoenix stone turned up in Mystic Falls, she's been top priority. They actually consider her one of the...supernatural wonders of the world." Enzo turns to the doppelgänger.

"And why do you care what they want?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"They have something I want. When The Armory kidnapped me four months ago, it wasn't to torture me. A woman named Alex made me an offer."

Rosie stares him down suspiciously, "What kind of an offer?"

"One that guarantees me a chance at happiness. She knows who my family was, since I was only abandoned at the age of four." He reminded them.