New Beginning

Chapter Twenty-Six

A/N: This is a smaller chapter than I normally post, but its an important one. I hope you like it because it took me forever and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Let me know what ya think.

"This is taking forever, Ellie!" Tyler said, his head falling against the back of his seat.

I rolled my eyes but kept them firmly placed on the run-down apartment building in front of us. "Listen, Tyler, you asked for my help. If you'd like, we can take the half-hour drive back to Mystic Falls, and you can continue being Tyler Lockwood: regular human teen," I said.

Tyler's head rolled to the side, and he huffed in impatience as he looked up at me. "I just thought murder would be, ya know, more action and less... stalkery," he said, glancing at the building and cupping his hands around his eyes like a pair of binoculars.

With a chuckle, I adjusted my shirt, situating myself into a more comfortable position. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right, we had been parked in the lot across from a man named Steven Riley's apartment complex for about three hours — and he had still yet to show himself. A little over a week ago I had broken into the Sheriff's department using Liz's key - to find us the perfect candidate for this little outing. Once I had made it inside, I found hacking into the state database hadn't been all that hard. Liz really did need to update her user information; her password was ridiculously easy. I planned to have Caroline mention password security to her mother; no one in law enforcement should be that easy to hack.

"Well, the next time I plan a murder, I'll make sure it's more fun for everyone involved, okay?" I said.

Tyler snorted, playing around with the straps of the black bag I had brought along. I wasn't sure how he wanted to do this, so I had packed a small variety of items for him to choose from. No matter how many times he chose to joke about this, I knew that it wouldn't be easy; no one's first kill was — even if the person they killed wasn't exactly a good one. I nudged his shoulder, grabbing the manilla folder from the dashboard and waving it in front of his face.

"Wanna take a look at his file again? It might help if you keep the kind of man he is in mind," I said.

Tyler took the folder and inhaled deeply, releasing the breath in an abrupt rush - his shoulders sagging. A sudden heaviness permeated the air and I looked away, my eyes finding the graffiti-covered building. I knew the man was in his apartment, we were just waiting for him to leave. The complex was a heavily trafficked area, and there was no way we could get in and out without being seen. This was going to be hard enough on Tyler. I didn't want to be forced to use magic on him so that he could get around without detection. It was easier to wait on the guy to come out, then we could follow him someplace else. I zipped up my jacket and scooted lower in my seat, nibbling on my thumbnail as I watched Tyler skim through the folder from the corner of my eye.

"God, this guy is awful," Tyler mumbled, reading through the man's list of felonies.

The guy I had chosen for us had been in and out of jail most of his life, easily avoiding serving large stints in prison by ratting out his fellow criminals. Lifting a page from the folder, Tyler took a deep breath - shaking his head.

"What kind of guy would be a part of a gang that forces young kids to deal drugs, and then murders them when they want out?" Tyler gasped out, his face morphing into a disgusted frown.

"The exact type of guy we are looking for. We don't want to kill someone who is worthy of life," I said, nodding along as he read from the file - my stomach-churning.

"They were never able to prove his part in any of the murders, and he was a snitch, so he never served longer than five years," he said.

I glanced up at him, my eyes were watery and chest heavy. This man definitely deserved what he had coming and I felt zero pity for him. Tyler lowered the folder, snapping it shut with a gentle fluttering of pages - and cleared his throat.