Red Queen ▻ The Originals [1]

39

Hayley and Ophelia shared a glance with each other, both of them clearly not convinced. The two girls got up from their seats before walking away.

____

Growing impatient with all of the waiting, Hayley and Ophelia decided to call Elijah. After calling Elijah on Ophelia's phone, it took a few moments before Elijah finally answered, "What's going on?" Ophelia asked Elijah concerned.

"Jackson is fine. He's..." Elijah trailed off, glancing over to Jackson, "A little tied up right now. Can we call you back?"

Klaus laughed at Elijah's joke before flipping open another crate. Inside were a handful of bombs, with a folded slip of paper on top. Klaus frowned, just as the red blinking light on the bombs turned green, "Oh, that doesn't bode well." He commented but didn't seem too scared about the explosives since he couldn't die, unlike Jackson.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Jackson asked Klaus angrily, which both Ophelia and Hayley heard through the phone."Elijah, tell us what's going on, now!" Hayley demanded through the phone, which was on speaker.

Klaus picked up the folded paper, as Elijah watched him closely, "This is for Thierry." He read aloud the note in a voice just above a whisper.

Klaus and Elijah then realized that they had been set up, so Elijah quickly grabbedJackson as he and Klaus vamp-sped away as quickly as they could. As they reached outside, the whole warehouse blew up, causing Hayley and Ophelia, who were still on the phone, to look terrified.

_

Hayley pacing around in the study while Ophelia tried her best to keep calm when Elijah, Klaus, and Jackson entered, all of them covered in ash.

"Thank god you're alive!" Ophelia sighed in relief as she hugged Jackson before helping him get over to the couch.

"I'm fine, too, thanks for asking," Klaus spoke up, clearly annoyed that Ophelia didn't even acknowledge him.

Ophelia and Hayley ignored Klaus as they took a seat on both sides of Jackson, "What about the stones?" Hayley asked the two male originals concerned.

Elijah sighed, "Scattered across the bed of the Mississippi, I'd imagine."

Klaus walked over to his alcohol before pouring himself a drink, "Marcel's not a fool. He knows an empowered werewolf army would mean the end of vampires in New Orleans. The explosion is his way of saying he means to prevent that. For all the good it'll do him." He explained to the group as he took a sip of his drink.

"Well, it did him pretty damn well, didn't it?" Hayley commented as she glanced over at Elijah.

"This is my fault. I'll find a way to fix it." Jackson spoke up.

Ophelia shook her head in disagreement, rubbing Jackson's shoulder affectionately, which didn't go unnoticed by Klaus, "No, Jack, you're hurt. No one's blaming you." She tried to assure him, but Klaus was quick to butt in.

"I'm blaming you! Those stones will be hard to replace," Klaus told the group before smirking evilly, "Fortunately, I always have a backup plan."

Downstairs, Francesca walked into the compound with five other men, all of whom wore suits that were almost as fancy and expensive looking as Elijah's, one of which carried a briefcase.

Klaus, Elijah, Hayley, and Jackson went down to greet her, "You can't seriously mean her! She's a gangster!" Hayley complained.

"I can't believe I'm saying this. But I totally agree," Ophelia spoke up, glaring at Francesca.

"I see her more as a means of procuring rare items at short notice," Klaus responded before turning to greet Francesca and her brothers, "Greetings, Ms. Correa! I see you've brought company."

"These are my brothers. I always include them in delicate business matters," She said before turning to her brothers, "Fellas, meet Mr. Mikaelson."

"Please, call me Klaus. All my friends do." Klaus smiled and Ophelia couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't know if I'd call us friends," Francesca replied before turning and reaching into the briefcase her brother was holding, and pulled out a small, black drawstring bag, "But, if you and Marcel are planning on having a little throw-down, I'd prefer my family to be on the same side as the inevitable victor."

"Then, you have what I asked for?" Klaus questioned curiously.

Francesca nodded as she held out the bag, "Not enough for an army at such short notice, but it's a start."

"Strange," Elijah spoke up as he joined into the conversation, "I wasn't aware that she was familiar with our plan."

"My price for doing business is full disclosure. Your brother complied." Francesca replied and Ophelia raised a brow at her, wondering why she wasn't aware of this plan.

"And what does the Human Faction stand to benefit from all of this?" Ophelia questioned curiously, "'Cause I don't see it at all."

  "I only want us to solidify our allegiance to the ruling class. It's good for business." Francesca informed them with a smile on her face.

Klaus examined the stones before turning to Francesca, "If only everyone shared your capacity for reason."

"Sadly, they don't," Francesca replied, "Marcel is being especially vindictive. I'm worried he might come after me, or my family, just for meeting with you," She paused, taking a deep breath, "It might be in our best interests if we combine our efforts."

"So be it! The more bodies we have to defend the compound, the better," Klaus agreed, causing Ophelia to frown, "Let's get started, shall we?"