Disclaimer: I do not own the existing characters that we know and love from Grimm, although I do take ownership over the new characters
A/N: Don't forget to review! I love writing this story, and a big thank you to my amazing beta, StormyMonday
Chapter 02
Diana's eyes darted between Hannah and Quinn, still in shock that she was seeing two thirds of the triplets at the scene of an accident. She had been restricted to desk work ever since she joined the precinct and was forced to just watch as all her colleagues had to go off and investigate murders and crime – some of which sounded Wesen related. This car crash was the first time Diana Schade-Renard had left the precinct for a job.
Quinn rushed to Diana's side. "Diana, I need to talk to you about April Delaney, the girl who disappeared."
Diana's eyes grew wide and she grabbed Quinn, dragging her to the side of the road, away from the commotion of the accident. "I told you to drop your little investigation because there is just no way that I can stop you from getting in trouble with the captain if word gets out that you've been poking around."
"But this time I really found something!" Quinn snapped, looking at the older woman with wide eyes.
There was a moment where Diana wondered what Quinn could have possibly found, but her superior officer, Detective Amelia Montoya, called out to her.
"Diana- get over here!" Detective Montoya stood by the crashed cars with folded arms. She was a petite woman who was slightly older than Diana. Her hair had been loosely pulled back into an elegant braided bun. Its messy appearance only added to her look. Montoya had a pretty face, but it came with a hot temper if you pushed her buttons. "Have you obtained the witness statements from these two girls?" she asked aggressively.
Diana could feel the older woman's burning gaze as she shook her head. The paramedics lifted the stretcher into the ambulance and shut the back doors quickly before running around to the front and getting in. The blue lights rotated, illuminating the street as the ambulance and one of the police cars sped off towards the hospital. Diana looked up and down the street, surprised that there weren't more people outside their homes, hankering to get a look at the accident. She pulled out a wire bound notebook with a red cover from her back jean pocket, ready to look active in acquiring witness statements from Hannah and Quinn.
Hannah was sat on the pavement edge, with her hands plastered to the side of her face like she was imitating 'The Scream' painting. Her expression was blank, almost masking the shock.
"Hannah?" Diana started calmly, standing in front of the girl. "I need you to walk me through what happened."
The younger girl ran her hands through her brown hair, unsure of where to start and what to say. She replayed the previous minutes in her head again and again, trying not to flinch at the memory of the woged man baring its teeth at her after feasting on the woman.
"It all happened so quickly. Me and Quinn were just locking up the tea shop around the corner- what am I saying, you know where- when I heard something. It sounded like a high pitched noise. I ran towards the junction just over there…" Hannah's finger pointed down the street at the traffic lights and she saw how much she was shaking. "Yeah… We saw there was a crash. But there was this man. He was crouched over the woman and I called out to him but he- he was, you know…"
Hannah was about to continue when Detective Montoya approached Diana from behind, eager to hear the statements.
"Go on, what was the man?" Montoya asked bluntly, squinting a little as she watched for any indications of deception.
Quinn noted her sister frozen to the spot on the pavement and unable to add to the statement, so she jumped in to help. "He was gone before either of us could get a proper look at him."
The sound of Montoya's heels clicking on the ground as she walked away told the three that they just might have just gotten away with quick thinking. Even the two male officers that were at the scene couldn't keep their eyes off of Montoya as she opened the door of her sleek black car and climbed in.
Diana watched Montoya making a phone call and hastily said goodbye to the two so that she wouldn't upset her superior or end up with a negative report being given to the captain. Seeing as her father was the renowned Captain Renard, it put Diana on the map and made many of her colleagues doubt her abilities or expect more of her. The new captain was secretive and it was very hard to tell what they had planned for the Portland P.D. Her father was now working as the new Captain of Seattle Police Department and enjoying into the fast pace that the larger city had to offer whilst trying to avoid getting caught up in the Royals affairs.
Diana strode over to Montoya's car. "Sorry, I was just getting the last few details from our witnesses. Hopefully the victim will come around and shed some light on the situation."
"Yes, I hope so…" Montoya murmured bluntly. "I'm going to drop you off at the precinct so you can do a background check on the victim."
Rather than protest, Diana nodded and checked her mobile to glance over the notifications which included a message from her half brother, Kelly.
Having trouble with Mom, I've just left the precinct, can I come stay with you for a day?
She rolled her eyes and squeezed her phone in the pocket of her leather jacket, trying not to slouch in the seat at the thought of doing remedial research. Kelly had a habit of fighting with their Hexenbeist mother about wanting to drop out of school to focus on being a full time Grimm, but she was having none of it. Their most recent argument ended up with Kelly walking out whilst his mom threw a vase of flowers across the room, missing him as he slammed the door shut. It always ended up being Diana's responsibility to look after him whenever he left home until things cooled off. Even if it meant that her roommate, Clay, had to temporarily move out of his room. There may have been an occasion where Clay and Diana shared her room, but only once.
Diana fired off a message to Clay, warning him of her brother's probably impending arrival.
"Not distracting you from your personal life, am I Diana?" Montoya had already pulled up alongside the entrance of the precinct and was trying to patiently wait for the blonde to get out of the car. "And Diana…" she called her back.
Diana leant over to look back into the car at Montoya, noticing the gentle amber glow of the nearby streetlight to light up the side of Montoya's face in a mysterious wave.
"I don't want to hear any more about the April Delaney's disappearance. Not in public."
Diana went to protest but clamped her jaw shut and sticking to a simple nod of the head. As she turned to leave, she heaved a deep sigh and listened for the car to pull away.
How did she know that Quinn mentioned April? She thought absent-mindedly, nearly tripping up the steps into the building. She was nowhere near us at the time…
"It's Diana, isn't it?" A middle aged man stood in the entrance hall of the precinct, looking awkward about the upcoming conversation. His gaze flitted between Diana and the police officers and perps who were passing between them, distracting by the hustle and bustle. "I'm- my name is Mr Delaney and I need to-"
Mr Delaney's dark eyes caught sight of something behind Diana and panic washed over his face. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he darted out of the door. Diana tried to follow, bumping straight into a cluster of police officers bringing in an aggressive hooded being. They kicked out and slammed a foot into Diana, connecting with her right hip. The force behind it sent her slamming into the wall, feeling it dig into her back.
The hood slipped down and revealed a woged Siegbarste. The skin around the face was cracked and covered in deep crevasses that made up the leather like texture of its king. It let out a high pitched scream as two police officers hauled them through to the interrogation room. What followed after was the pungent smell that inflamed Diana's nostrils and forced her to get out into the fresh air, but she knew she couldn't just walk out when there was a Siegbarste in the precinct. This particular wesen was known for its durable skin and strength, so there was no way she could leave at this point.
Of all days, it had to be today that everything that could go wrong, would go wrong… Diana thought to herself, rolling her eyes and turning to go back inside.
She could see the path of destruction that the Siegbarste left behind. Papers were scattered across the floor with junior police officers scurrying about trying to gather them. A chair lay upturned in the middle of the corridor. It was like a mini tornado had ripped its way through the precinct.
As Diana walked to the desk in the far corner of the precinct that she called her own, she wondered what Mr Delaney might have wanted. It wasn't like she was the investigating officer for the disappearance of April Delaney. Plus, Quinn wanting to investigate further into the case made Diana anxious. If Montoya cottoned onto the fact that a teenager was conducting her own investigation, there was no telling what she might do to punish the teen.
"Sorry- I need someone to file these reports and you look like you don't have anything to do at the moment…" a senior detective murmured, dropping a small folder onto the desk and walking away before Diana could even protest.
Instead of protesting, Diana entered the reports into the computer including a robbery or the hit that was out on an ex-sergeant where most of the information had been redacted. Diana's instincts told her it was a short name and most likely Wu's name… What happened with Wu was something that Diana swore never to repeat. When she got to the last report, flinched at a report of April Delaney came up. She almost did a double take in disbelief.
Her eyes darted back and forth over the report about a message left on the tip line dedicated to April.
The transcript of the phone call was intriguing to say the least.
"Hello? I've got information about April Delaney- you have to investigate the home… Rosewood. I can't say anymore-"
No more, and no less, which added to the mystery.
A quick internet search about Rosewood brought up a retirement home with absolutely no leads coming from it. Not even a link to the Delaney's. There was no grandparent at the home either.
Diana wondered what other type of home it might be. There wasn't any reference to Rosewood when it came to the Delaney residence. Mr and Mrs Delaney had moved there about eighteen years ago, and not long after they did, they had April.
"There has to be some sort of significance to Rosewood," Diana whispered to herself, leaning back in her seat and resisting the urge to put her feet up on the desk. She wasn't anywhere near senior enough to pull that off.
In the heat of the moment, Diana didn't even realise Montoya marching confidently into the precinct. The more experienced detective glanced over the report that Diana tried to gather together and put out of sight.
"Diana, I thought I made it quite clear that you were not to investigate that young girl's disappearance. The case is closed now leave it alone." Montoya placed her woollen grey coat over her chair, smiling at the fact that she as the centre of attention. "Alright boys, back to work," she said slyly, taunting the officers who were unable to avert their gaze. Before she had a chance to sit down, the phone at her desk started to ring. "This is Detective Montoya." The detective turned to glare at Diana with her piercing dark eyes. "Mrs Delaney, Mrs Delaney… Right… Well I can only apologise… Please, if you leave this with me, I'll make sure that it doesn't happen again. Of course, you have my word." Amelia Montoya put the phone down slowly. "Diana, with me. Now!"
The anger in Montoya's voice echoed across the room and everyone looked up from their desks with weird eyes to watch Diana.
"O-kay…"
Diana followed slowly behind Montoya who headed towards the empty office next to the Captain's. This office hadn't been used since the last specialist officer was kicked out of the precinct for some reason unbeknownst to Diana.
"Sit down," Montoya ordered sternly, shutting the blinds to keep the others from prying and looking in. "Diana, we both know that you want to progress and move up from your desk work. I thought you were ready to go out into Portland to assist me, but from what I've seen so far, you're distracted and too interested in cases that are not your priority."
"Detective Montoya- I have sat at that desk and worked my backside in the hope that one day, I would be able to be the Captain my father is."
Montoya nodded slowly. "I'm aware of Captain Sean Renard and his word from the Portland P.D. In fact, I remember when he was a mayoral candidate, but that is irrelevant right now." She paused, watching the blonde's expression. "That was obviously Mrs Delaney, she called to make a complaint against your friend, Hannah… The girl that happened to be at our crime scene not an hour ago… Diana, I'm only going to ask you this once. Are you investigating the disappearance of April Delaney?"
Diana's eyes widened at the thought of many things. One, that she wasn't holding her own investigation. Two, that Hannah and probably Quinn were stirring up trouble with the Delaneys. Three, at some point, Montoya chose to take her out on duty out of everyone in the precinct. Also adding to everything was the fact that back at her apartment, Kelly was letting himself in, unaware that she actually had a roommate.
"Diana!" Montoya slapped a hand on the desk, leaning forwards onto it and looking deep into the eyes of the young lady.
"Detective Montoya, I can assure you that I have not been doing any additional investigations. I was actually just filing the report… Something just didn't add up about Rosewood," Diana snapped confidently, standing up to Montoya. "There's more to the care home than meets the eyes."
Montoya started to smile. "You're better than I thought you would be, Diana. I think you're going to make the perfect partner, because I think there is more-"
Diana frowned at Montoya's change of heart, it all made a little more sense when she thought about it. She opened her mouth to agree when there was a loud bang.
"Nobody move!" someone screamed from outside of the office. "We are the Sentinels and we will fight against crimes against our people!"
Montoya flinched at the sudden sound of shattering glass and ducked down at an office chair came crashing into the glass.
Shards of glass flew through the air and without any time to react, Diana flicked her wrists to the side to make the shards stop and gently shower themselves onto the floor and Montoya.
"Sentinels, out!"
Diana looked through the hole in the window above a tangled mess of the blinds and the chair that had been flying across the precinct not moments before. She looked through just in time to see a masked man throw a smoke bomb into the precinct. The office went into chaos as the dark grey smoke billowed out of the canister and created a screen for the Sentinel gang to escape. Her eyes began to sting and water as she flung the door open. Shouts and screams filled her ears as she headed in the direction of where she had seen the Sentinel man standing.
"He's escaped, they've broken him out!" one of the arresting officers shouted.
Diana staggered quickly through the precinct until she managed to get out of the building where they were starting to send in a SWAT team, but it was all too late. Blinking rapidly was the only way to avoid the pain, and made her vision feel like a stop motion film as she hit the pavement. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw someone running away from the precinct.
"Hey!" Diana called out, startling the bystanders that had stopped to see what was going on at the precinct. "I said stop!"
Diana chased after the masked man, heading into the park and then he stopped in the middle of the path and turned slowly.
"You… you're one of us… You're the Hexenbeist hybrid," he said slowly. "I don't believe it, it's true. You're one of the traitors- protecting the humans. The Sentinels are here to protect all Wesen kind from the Grimms." The masked man's voice was muffled by the mask, making it hard to catch every word.
"This isn't the way – we need to promote peace and harmony between Wesen and the Kehrseite. That is the way for Wesen kind to survive."
"Stay out of our way and beware the blood moon…"
Blood moon?
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = thank you for your support with this story so far, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to get started on the next one