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THE GROUP OF FRIENDS ALL STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS, determined looks on their faces. Stefan dropped a duffle bag full of twelve wooden stakes made from the sign of the Wickery Bridge, which Rebekah and Kol burned down while Laiken had been out cold from killing Elena.
"You're sure Lake is unlinked from them?" Damon asked, looking sharply at Bonnie.
The witch nodded. "She and Enzo won't be harmed if the Mikaelsons are."
"Klaus has always been one step ahead of us, but now we have the advantage. We're all armed and they are all linked, meaning we only need to kill one of them. We need to seize the best opportunity, which means we need to prepare for every opportunity," Stefan instructed.
"Scenario number one," Damon said, rushing to Caroline and moving her over. "You get to play Klaus."
"Okay," Caroline said with a frown.
"Rebekah is our target so we distract her and catch her off guard. To do that we need to keep Klaus separate and occupied," Stefan said. "Thankfully, he's already like that with Laiken around."
"Witchy, we need you to play Rebekah. We use the quarterback to distract her. Just keep her talking," Damon told them.
"How?" Matt asked in disbelief. He didn't have that much faith in himself.
"Act interested. She's lonely, desperate."
"Clearly," Caroline muttered. "She slept with you."
Bonnie surpassed a grin, wishing Laiken were there as she'd have loved to make fun of Damon. But they couldn't let her in on this secret if they wanted to protect her.
Damon just rolled his eyes. "Beefcake holds Bombshell. I come up from behind her," he said, pulling Bonnie's arms behind her. "Grab her arms like this."
"Ow!" she snapped as Stefan came up with a stake, imitating stabbing her in the heart.
"Gives me time for one shot," he said. Then he looked around at everyone. "Got it? Good. So we all have one stake, we keep it hidden and we look out for any opportunity we have."
"No last-minute attacks of pity for any of them," Damon said, looking to Caroline.
The blonde just huffed and crossed her arms. "It's just... can't this like, kill Lake?"
"She's right," Jenna said with a frown. "They're her soulmates. I can't imagine how much this will hurt her even if she doesn't die."
"She has Enzo. She's not going to die," Stefan said, sounding so sure even if he wasn't. "Look, she's in danger the longer she's around them. This is to keep her safe."
"But what about keeping her happy?" Bonnie questioned.
"We all care about Laiken. She's the most important thing right now," Damon said. "And a group of Originals is the last thing she needs."
