Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Damon meets with Diana at her jeep later in the day, she climbs out and closes the door as he walks towards her.

"What's going on?" she asks him as she tugs her jacket closer. Damon holds out his cell phone to her.

"See for yourself" he answers, she raises an eyebrow and looks down to read the message on the screen.

"Hunter at Mystic Grill with hostages. They all die at sundown." Diana reads from Damon's phone. "He's...bold" She offers as she leans back against her jeep, Damon takes his phone back from her.

...........

"So, we each take a different entrance; hit them at the same time." Damon informs Elena and Tyler stood together at the Lockwood mansion. Stefan walks in the room. Elena gets up and walks over to him.

"Stefan!"

"Where the hell have you been?" Damon asks him. Stefan reaches his arm out towards Elena. She embraces him and he embraces her back.

"Coming up with a plan." Stefan answers.

"Yeah, we have a plan. The plan is I'm gonna rip Connor's heart out and I'm going to feed it to him." Damon argues.

"That's not a plan. We need to be careful. Connor has Jeremy and who knows how many other hostages."

"Hence, the open heart surgery."

"Damon's right. Connor's strong, but he's not going to be able to take all of us." Elena agrees with Damon.

"I called in the hybrids to help too." Tyler adds. Diana walks in the room, her bow strapped to her back.

"Liz put squad cars blocking the streets. They're saying it's a faulty gas main. We're good to go." She tells them as she tucks away her cell phone.

"Good, great. No cops, no witnesses, no reason to wait around." Damon counters.

"All right, hold on, you're not all going." Stefan argues and looks at Tyler and Elena.

"He shot me like nine times. If we're killing him, I want in." Tyler argues.

"He's got Jeremy. I'm going." Elena agrees.

"Listen, nobody is going anywhere until I figure out what we're walking into." Stefan argues.

"Until you figure it out? Is that where you've been all morning? Out buying bossy pants?" Damon asks him.

"Stefan's right" Diana defends. "This guy is known for setting traps, right? We'd be pretty dumb to walk into one, especially if he has extracted that werewolf venom." Diana points out agreeing with Stefan. Elena appears to be rethinking the plan. Damon is clearly angry.

"Fine. Fine, if you want to take some time to do recon, you get one hour. But we're gonna need some extra help. So, where the hell's the Wicked Witch of the West?" Damon asks.

"She can't do magic." Elena points out.

"Really? Well, call her, tell her Jeremy's life is in danger; maybe that will bring her out of retirement." Damon counters then walks out of the room, hitting Stefan with his shoulder on the way out. Stefan and Diana share a look, she shrugs back and then follows Damon.

...............

"This is stupid" Damon complains hearing Diana behind him. "Should just kill him and be done with it" He huffs.

"Except that we need him alive" She points out, Damon grumbles under his breath and turns to face her. "Once we have that map....you can do whatever the hell you want to him" He smiles at her. "Until then.....you're like....a....anti-serial killer" he smirks a little and nods.

"Okay" he nudges her a little. "But only cause it's you that's asking..." he counters and gives her a sad smile. "You okay?" he asks her, she frowns and nods at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She answers, he gives her a look.

"Watchdog" he pushes a little. She sighs and looks away from him. Her thumb brushing over her ring.

"I miss him" She admits, neither of them need to say who he is, they both know she means Alaric. "Every day..." she looks down and shrugs. "But it's not going to be better if I let myself drown in those feelings" She looks at Damon. "I have to get up, I have to feed his children, bath them and care for them..." Damon reaches up with his hands and brushes the tears from her cheeks. "And someone has to look after you guys because you're all danger magnets" Damon smiles at her and nods in agreement before pulling her into a hug, Diana frowns a little. "Why the hell are you hugging me?" She asks him.

"Seemed like you could use it" he answers touching her back before he pulls away. She gives him a weird look.

"Okay..." She states slowly. "Let's just...get this over with" she turns and walks away from him.

.....................

Elena is in Diana's apartment, she looks through the blinds at Stefan who is hanging up his phone. Damon is combing through the weapons room and picks out some vervain darts and a mini crossbow.

"Who was he talking to?" Elena asks.

"Bonnie, hopefully. Maybe she decided to make herself useful again." Damon answers then takes out a large map and spreads it on a table. Elena walks over to him.

"What is that?" Elena asks.

"It's our way in. Courtesy of the Watchdog's interest in the Mystic Falls Underground Railroad."

"The tunnels, like the ones in the Lockwood cellar." Elena points out, Damon takes a picture of the map with his phone.

"Yep," Damon put his phone away. Elena's phone starts to ring. She answers it and puts it on speakerphone.

"What did you find out?" Elena asks.

"I can only make out the voices," Diana admits on the other end from where she sits on a bench close to the Grill.

"How many hostages?" Damon asks her.

"Three. But Elena, it's Matt and April Young." Diana admits.

"What?!"

"Those two idiots, they're like danger magnets." Damon mumbles. 

"Yeah, you can't really say that when you are all ones yourself" Diana points out.

"We have to get them out of there." Elena points out.

"We will" Diana assures her. "Did you find the maps?"

"Yeah, we got them" Damon assures her. "Just get back here" He adds.

"Yeah, I'm on my way" Diana assures him and then hangs up.

...........

Diana stares at the Grill and takes a breath. She's not really planning on letting the vampires get close to this guy. Not when he has werewolf venom. She looks down at her phone and then nods a little before dialing again.

..........

The phone at the bar rings. Jeremy walks towards it and is about to answer when Connor grabs his wrist. Jeremy pulls his hand away. Connor answers the phone instead.

"We're closed."

"I want you to free the hostages." Diana states.

............

Diana heads down an alley as she talks on the phone.

"I'll free them as soon as you give me what I want." Connor counters. "All the vampires dead."

"What? So your hunter's mark can grow?" She asks. "Listen, if you free the hostages then you and I can have a little chat. I'll even tell you about the Brotherhood of the Five."

"That's a weak move. You must be desperate." Connor argues.

"Think about it, Connor. Klaus saved your life. He needs you alive. Aren't you the least bit curious why?" She asks as she makes her way to the back of the Grill.

.........

Connor slams the phone down on the receiver, breaking it. He shoves the phone off the bar and walks away.