A/N: This is going to be an AU/all human fic, set as a crime drama. It's loosely gonna parallel Rose's story arc, but arch off in quite a few ways (the central focus of the story is Damon). I tried to include lots of characters (and keep them in character), including Damon, Rose, Elena, Elijah, Stefan, Klaus, Katherine, and Jules, and I will add others if I see a good way to work them in! A lot of this story will be told through flashback. Lots of pairings and lots of action, it should be a lot of fun, in fact so much fun that the rating might be bumped up to M later! As always reviews/feedback/constructive criticism are very much appreciated!

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"... Suspects are heading south-bound in a black four-door IS250, license plate 2JD-88S. There are reports of two individuals, one Caucasian male, one Caucasian female, and both appear to be in their late twenties. Suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous, I repeat suspects are armed and dangerous, approach with caution. Paramedics report one white male, deceased, to have received multiple gun-shot wounds to the head. No details have emerged on the possibility of a second party involved in the shooting but..."

Damon switched off the police transponderin disgust. There was no way they would be able to get far with every patrol car in Richmond gunning for them. They. He let the word rattle around in his head for a moment, and allowed himself a small smile, his first in as long as he could remember. Damon didn't often get the chance (nor did he want) to think in terms of they. Taking special care not to move his head, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the woman hunched over in the seat next to him. Black lines of mascara were trailing down her pale cheeks, and her shoulder-length brunette hair was matted against her forehead, stuck by dry sweat. She had been in tears, almost hysterical, after it happened, but she had done an absolutely admirable job of retreating into herself and shutting off all emotion in the past half-hour, dwelling silently as Damon maneuvered away from the scene of the crime.

"Hey," he offered, breaking the silence. She didn't say anything. "Rose," he tried to summon her attention once more, still refusing to turn his head.

"Sorry," she said, her voice strained. "I was... thinking. Go on."

"Huh, well I certainly am not going to object to that. But yeah, I'm going to pull off pretty soon and duck into a parking lot so we can change the license plates. I don't think our luck will hold out much longer otherwise."

"Luck?" She didn't sound upset at his word choice, just surprised.

"Yeah, I guess I probably should have phrased that better."

"No harm done. At least they didn't have us identified by name. I- I still can't believe Klaus set us up like that. What could we have done? I knew Trevor was skimming a little money off the top, but Klaus wouldn't risk the heat of killing all of us for that. But I guess, well I guess he did."

Damon tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he changed lanes, cutting through the dark, empty highway towards an exit ramp. He was very certain there was a much bigger reason behind the betrayal. A dark haired, beautiful reason that went by the name of Katherine. And because of his past mistakes, this poor girl he had just met a few nights before was marked for death along with him. Well, that was assuming Klaus wasn't going to off her and her friend anyways, but now it was certain.

"With that man, any reason is enough," Damon said bitterly as he got on the off-ramp, easing his foot off the accelerator.\

...

"It's in the duffel bag?" The man asked Damon, seated behind a small wooden desk. They were in a barren apartment, used only for shady business deals.

"Of course it is." Damon said, setting the bag on the table. He unzipped the top. "Well, something is," In one fluid motion, Damon pulled out the revolver tucked neatly near the top. He cocked it, and pointed it directly at the face of the overweight man in front of him. A moment later, Rose pulled a snub-nosed pistol out of her inside jacket pocket, and pointed it at a second man who was holding a brief case. "Alright, I think you know what comes next. Hand over the money before I blast your brains out."

"What's this? Are you serious?" The fat man said, dabbing at the sweat that had suddenly appeared on his forehead.

"Oh, dead serious. I can shoot you if you aren't convinced though. I've killed before." Damon said with a forced smirk. He beckoned to the man with the brief case.

"So-So you don't have the coke? Klaus will kill you when he finds out you crossed us!" The fat man pleaded as his companion tentatively handed Damon the case. His gun was still trained right between the large man's eyes as he handed the case to Rose.

"Make sure it's all there," he ordered. He turned back to the pair in front of him. "Au contraire, this was all Klaus's idea. Looks like the shop is closed for you boys."

"It's all here, let's go" Rose interjected.

"You just bought my freedom," Damon said as he backed towards the door, the gun still pointed towards the duo, who were sitting in shocked disbelief. "Hey if you have any objections with the way Klaus is doing business, I'm sure he'd be just thrilled to hear 'em." He turned around and ran out the door, following Rose quickly down the stairs. They bounded down half the block, before hopping into a black IS250 parked in a dark alley. Damon hopped in shotgun, and Rose got in the back.

"All good?" Trevor asked from the driver seat, flicking a half-smoked cigarette.

"It's golden, now get us the hell out of here," Rose replied, her voice reflecting her nervous excitement.

The car peeled off, and Damon sat still as Rose and Trevor exchanged sporadic chatter. One more stop, and he was off to lead a new life. He went over the plan in his head for the umpteenth time. The last step was to deliver the money to Klaus's right hand man, Elijah. Assuming Klaus was a man of his word (Damon chose to overlook the two saps Klaus had just ordered him to double-cross), he was free to leave the syndicate. A proposition almost too good to believe.

"So you're almost a free man? No more summons at three o'clock in the morning to do Klaus's evil bidding. Just what will you do with yourself?" Rose leaned forward and asked Damon with a smile.

Damon chuckled. "Drink, at least for a while. I'm more of a spur of the moment kinda guy, haven't really thought ahead." Rose laughed and Trevor cracked a smile as he turned into a parking lot. They were almost there. "Oh, which reminds me, I'd like to buy you guys a round of drinks, or nine, after this. A toast to my new and soon to be former partners in crime. Should be a nice memento to end a miserable six years. That is, if you guys don't have plans at 1 am on this fine Tuesday night."

"Sounds bloody brilliant," Trevor said as he pulled the car up next to an old warehouse, putting it in park.

"Rose?" Damon asked, arching his eyebrows.

A smile spread across her face, "Sure, I would like to get to know the mysterious Mr. Salvatore over a drink or nine."

"Excellent. Drinks on me. Now let's give this smug bastard the money and get outta here." Damon got out of the car, grabbing the brief case. Trevor opened the drivers door and got out as well,lighting up a cigarette as he stepped out into the cool night air.

Damon opened the back door for Rose, and looked in at her. "I'm going to stay in the car, Elijah gives me the creeps," she said, arching her eyebrows uncertainly.

"You sure you'll be alright out here by yourself?" Damon asked mockingly.

"I'm a big girl," she replied. "Besides, I got this." She pulled out her pistol and pointed it at Damon, closing one eye. "Bang, bang, you're dead." she added with a mischievous grin. Damon put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes, before turning around and closing the door.

Damon nodded at Trevor, who inhaled deeply from his cigarette, leaving an acrid cloud of smoke to hang in the night air. The two walked in silence to the agreed meeting place, besides a storage unit a few dozen yards away. Sure enough, as they rounded the corner, there was Elijah, dressed in a sharp gray suit. What surprised, and unsettled, Damon was the blonde woman at his side. He recognized her instantly. Jules. The name made him cringe. He had worked with her a few times, and couldn't stand the woman.

"I am so glad you decided to be punctual. Here we go now, let me see that. I trust it's all there."

Damon tossed over the case, and Elijah caught it effortlessly. "Every damned dollar. Now am I free to go? I got things to do," Damon demanded. His voice betrayed his uneasiness more than he would have liked.

"Mmm, and where is the girl, Rose? I thought the arrangement was that all three of you were to meet me?"

"She's in the car, I can ge..." Damon cut Trevor off mid sentence, by raising his hand. He felt frozen in place. Everything about the situation seemed completely wrong. He noted with extreme distaste that Elijah had dodged his question. He could see Jules tensing up, staring him and Trevor down.

"Trevor, run!" he shouted as he turned around immediately and began sprinting.

"What, wh-" Trevor failed to realize the circumstances, and stood stupidly in confusion as Elijah dropped the brief case and pulled out a gun, discharging multiple shots into the immobile man. Jules followed suit, and pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, and fired frantically at Damon. He ran recklessly, his arms flailing through the air, unable to hear or think.

"And... there we go!" Damon proclaimed as he tightened the last screw on the swapped out license plates.

Rose watched without expression. She sighed and slumped down along the side of the car, resting her head in her hands. "Now what? We still got the cops on our tail, and Klaus will hunt us to the ends of the earth. What are we gonna do Damon?"

"We?" he asked, slightly surprised. "Well, I figured we would part ways in the not to distant future. I'm sure you got people to call, places to hide. We're a bigger target if we move together." He looked down at her. An uneasy silence hung in the air, each one anticipating the other to speak first. Damon didn't intend to be cruel; he was just being practical. And that was how he had operated, and that was why he had survived all this time in such an unforgiving setting. He looked out for himself, and didn't let anyone else slow him down.

"Well," Rose said solemnly, looking up to meet his eyes, "if that's what you want, I understand. But, I was hoping that maybe I could stick with you, just for a little while." Damon stood quietly, his hands jammed into his pockets. "It's just that, well I'm a long way from home, and my only friend here is laying face down, his body riddled full of bullets. I just- I don't really have anywhere to go. I could probably figure something out, but I'd rather, I'd just prefer being with someone, you know? At least for a little while." she nodded to herself, and wiped away a rouge tear that threatened to destroy the illusion of strength she was trying so desperately to portray to Damon.

Damon looked down at her bitterly. She had a pitifully pleading look in her eyes, and she fumbled with her hair in an all too nervous way. This is where he would normally draw the line. This is where he should give the tough love, tell her that he would help her get somewhere safe, but there was no way they could be on the run together. Hell, a lot of people he would have left then and there. It was like he told the fat man earlier; he was capable of doing very bad things. But, there was something he liked about this Rose. Something comforting, something that he hadn't seen in anybody in a while. Not necessarily in a lustful sense, the way he saw Katherine (that bitch put him in this situation), but something warm. So before he realized it he opened his mouth to speak. "Fine, but only because I had promised to get you a drink earlier. We can stick together, at least until you get on my nerves." He outstretched a hand, and she accepted, allowing him to pull her up.

"Thanks Damon, it means a lot," she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in close for a hug. He drew her in and rested his arm on her head. "Did you have an idea on what to do next?" She asked after she had pulled away.

"Well, my estranged brother lives pretty close to here. And much to his undoubted dismay, I was thinking of stopping there for a bit. You know, gather some supplies, rest, think out our next move."

"You mean steal his stuff?" Rose asked with a smile

"Ouch. Dontcha think that's a bit harsh," Damon said as he got back into the drivers seat. He hadn't seen his brother in almost a year, and he was interested to see how he would react to his untimely return. Then his mind paused on a slight detail. Well, maybe it wasn't so slight. It was that girl that had been there last time. Elena was her name, and she had left an unexpected impression on Damon. Suddenly, he found himself desperately hoping that she would be there this time as well.