Coalesce (Book Six of The Vampire Diaries)

Ch. 7: Do You Remember the First Time?

Enzo, Stefan, Matt and I were standing in a small abandoned store house, interrogating Tripp, who was chained up to a chair, beaten pretty badly from the car accident.

"Hello, again," I told him. "That was quite a mess you made at the border last night. Hit-and-run. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Good thing Matt here was in the neighborhood to give you a ride home."

Tripp looked at Matt. "You brought me here?" 

"You went after my friends," Matt told him. "What'd you expect?"

"Your friends who kill people," Tripp told him. 

"Come on, Kaylin," Stefan told me. "Ask him what you want to know. Let's get this over with."

I looked at Tripp. "Stefan has already made a very passionate argument in favor of snapping your neck, whereas in a surprising role reversal, I've opted for the 'let's think this through, get all the information before we kill him' method."

"Don't be a bitch," Matt told me. "You know, you can dry the vervain out of him, compel him to forget everything, and he'll never set foot in Mystic Falls again."

"You don't really think he's a one-man vampire busting operation, do you?" Enzo asked. "Look. While Tripp tortured me for the names of you and your friends, I had a front-row seat to quite a few urgent phone calls and visits from mysterious right-hand men, many of whom were wearing uniforms not dissimilar to the one you've been traipsing around in. I'd just like to know what they're up to while he's here with us."

There was a moment of silence.

I looked at Enzo. "Did you hear anything?" 

"I didn't hear anything," Enzo answered.

"That's what I thought," I told them. "Which is precisely the problem."

I picked up a hammer, slamming it onto Tripp's hand, making him scream. 

"You're more devious than first impressions give," Enzo told me. 

I smiled, tilting my head.

"They're doing the same thing they were when they were with me," Tripp told us. "They're tracking vampires like your friend Caroline Forbes." 

Stefan looked at me. "Take two hours, get the names of his men and what they know. After that, he's a liability. Get rid of him."

Stefan turned, walking out. 

******

Caroline had been calling me repeatedly. 

I went outside to call her back.

Caroline answered. "Tell me that Tripp is still alive."

"Tripp is still alive, surprisingly torture-resistant, but alive," I answered.

"What took you so long to answer your phone?" 

I hesitated. "My fingers were covered in blood and the touchscreen wouldn't work."

"Just don't kill him, okay? One of his guys took my mom, so just keep your hands off of him so I can get her back, okay? Kaylin, please." 

"You got it, Care," I told her, hanging up, walking toward the warehouse. 

Inside, I heard Matt talking to Enzo. "All right, that's enough."

"I thought I could make the world a better place by getting rid of people like you, teach kids like Matt to be strong, defend yourselves," Tripp told him. "But look at you. You're on the wrong side."