Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 59

Tripp wasn't going to be a problem for very long.

According to Matt, he ran the community protection squad. He was apparently very rude to Sheriff Forbes, and always hinted at knowing something about vampires. Matt had confronted him and found out that he drove vampires across the Mystic Falls border, stripping away by force the magic that was keeping them alive.

"There are three different routes to get into Mystic Falls," said Matt, checking pictures of a map he must have taken from Tripp's office. "One is Route 13, the other is Old Miller Road, and the last one is Route 9."

"My mom can shut down Route 13," said Caroline. "But we'll need to split up between Route 9 and Old Miller Road."

"Do you think there's any way we can track him so we can all ambush him?" asked Rosalind. "Track his phone, track him with a Locator Spell—?"

"Phone won't work," said Matt. "I notice he turns it off whenever he goes out doing stuff like this; I never know which road he takes, I just notice the blood on his van when he comes back."

Rosalind huffed. "Well, do you have any idea where he might be holding them? Shit... we don't know if he might have already driven them out... I don't know if I can use his scent well enough at this point, I have no idea where he might be."

"It's okay," said Lexi soothingly. "We can split up, and just have the phone ready to text wherever he shows up. Stefan, Alaric, Jesse, and I can take Route 9. Caroline, Elena, Rosalind, and Tyler can take Old Miller Road. Matt can't be seen anywhere so Tripp won't suspect him; having an inside man was our only advantage right now."

"What about me?" asked Bonnie. "Where should I go?"

"Maybe, stay here," said Stefan thoughtfully. "See if you can use magic to get a trace on Tripp. Rosalind's idea for a Locator Spell might just work. If you could figure out which route he's on early on, we can all get together there. Tripp may have weapons that can be used against us, but he can't take us all down at once."

Ruby cleared her throat from the kitchen. "I want to help."

"You don't have to," Rosalind said. "It might be dangerous, and I haven't taught you to spar yet."

Ruby smiled slightly. "Well, I have been a vampire for over twenty years at this point. I may know a thing or two about avoiding weapons and I used to watch a lot of action movies with rescue missions. Should be a piece of cake, right?"

She joined Rosalind's team. Tyler drove them out to Old Miller Road, where they had the car positioned just across the border as if it had a flat tire. (Well, actually, Caroline had stabbed her key into the tire so viciously, that Rosalind doubted anyone would think that had happened accidentally).

"A little excessive, don't you think?" said Ruby, tilting her head. "How will we get to Whitmore after this? We barely fit in the car on the way here."

"Good point," said Tyler, raising a brow at his girlfriend, who huffed.

"I was thinking on the fly," she said. "You know how to change a tire, right? We can just put the spare and I'll owe you a new one."

Tyler pecked her lips. "I'll hold you to that."

Elena was pacing around the front of the car. "What should the story be? In case he shows up and asks?"

Rosalind turned around to look at both sides of the road. "Well, it is pretty obvious we were going into Mystic Falls. So, anybody know of any town events happening tonight?"

No one could think of anything. "How about this?" suggested Ruby. "We were going to have a party at the swimming hole by the Lockwood Mansion. He'll probably recognize Tyler and Rosalind if he knows Carol."