Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except the OCs. All published characters belong to the respective owners. I do not make a £ from this.

Warnings: rude language.
This chapter introduces the new situation roughly a couple of years after the end of HBII movie. Possible spoilers.

Flame all you want. I am fireproof.

Enjoy!

The Bureau was busier and messier than ever tonight, Terhentar thought, stalking between the desks. Human and faerie folk agents milled around, engaged in different tasks, too busy to acknowledge her.
The lock-up was full of drunken and disorderly goblins, faeries and sidhe, still insulting each other through the bars and she recognized the enclave constables gathered around one of the desks, liaising with one of the agents.
"What's up tonight?" she asked, approaching the cluster.
One of the constables, a spindly thin pixie, saluted her. "There was a riot during the Ulster vs Connacht hurling match." he explained, rolling his grass-green eyes in annoyance.
"Yeah. The Connacht boys were winning, - a burly dwarf added, shrugging his massive shoulders – when some bugger from the Ulster side started chanting about Queen Maeve being a lousy poxy whore."
"And then the Connacht side responded by singing that the Ulstermen are a bunch of sissy pansies because they are still under British dominion…" the pixie continued, disconsolately.
Terhentar cringed. If you wanted to start a fight with an Ulsterman, that would be an ideal way.
"As you can imagine, - another constable added, a kobold with a thick Polish accent – all hell broke loose. I do not understand why they become so winded up because of a sport…"
"it is not just a sport, it is a tradition." a sidhe constable added. He sported a big bruise on his pale cheekbone.
"Well, tradition or no tradition, - chimed in the dwarf, chewing a gum or a piece of tobacco with gusto – the fact is that we had to call in the agents to control the fighters. Bunch of buggers..." he growled, spitting into the paper bin. Tobacco was it.
"They exceeded a bit, I have to admit it." the sidhe said softly.
"Just a bit?" goaded the pixie.
"Well… Maybe more than a bit. - admitted the sidhe - But fighting at hurling matches is traditional. And punching Connachtmen is traditional as well." he added in an undertone.
Terhentar laughed. "Do not ask me, - she said – my father is from Munster."
"But you must have played hurling at least a bit when you were a kid. – the sidhe said – Everybody from Ireland does."
Terhentar shrugged. "My mother is Finnish. I played eigthman in the Irish women rugby team."
The sidhe constable shook his head, disconsolately. An Ulsterman, for sure, torn between his constable duty and the urge to punch some Connachtman face.

Terhentar shrugged again and headed towards her desk, near the door leading to the superiors' offices.
She had been hired into the BPRD barely a year before, during the faerie folk hiring spree. As far as she knew, the BPRD had undergone a serious reform, since the new president had been elected. Before, it had been a small secret squad, whose duty was to eliminate potential supernatural threats, while now it had become more like police than an assassination commando. Its duties now included policing the enclaves and investigating and preventing normal crimes in those areas, therefore many "hidden citizens" as they were now called, were hired as agents, alongside the humans. Most of them had been enclave constables which had been grandfathered in, but some unexpected people had cropped up as well, including her.

She had originally been hired as a support healer, but had been later promoted to the elite troop. She was quite a lousy healer, but she knew her business in fighting.
She was a priestess of Anat, for heaven's sake, sworn and trained to protect the people and slay demons. She had always done that, quite illegally, ever since she her initiation, but now she had the possibility to do it legally and was also paid for it. She still could not believe her luck.
Zabiba, a young djinn from Lebanon, walked before her desk and greeted her with a nod. She was the new healer of the BPRD and she was extra-competent and caring. "How are things going 'Biba?" she enquired. Her friend smiled and adjusted her hijab over her ears, a bright turquoise today, as the rest of her garments.
"The kids are doing fine at school, thankfully. – she said softly. She had twins, who had just began to go to school and she was worried whether they would adapt – And you? Is your family well?"
"Fine, thanks. The pub is still full of people and Ma and Da are healthy and happy. What could I ask more?" she replied.
"A nice boyfriend?" Zabiba joked. She knew Terhentar was picky about men and not interested in any relationship, but she kept pulling her leg nonetheless.
Terhentar snarled playfully. "Not everyone is made for conjugal bliss." she said with finality.
Zabiba laughed heartlily, a clean and nice sound. This was their usual routine.
"I heard Capitain Sapien has been ill in the last few days. – she whispered conspiratorially – They say it is too much stress and not enough sleep. He looked like hell the last time I saw him…" she sounded concerned. She was a healer, it was in her nature to care about people. As far as Terhentar knew, Capitan Sapien was working himself to exhaustion to put grief in the back burner. People said it was because of a lost love and rumor had it that it was no other than the late sidhe princess Nuala, but it was considered good policy not to probe too much.

As if summoned by their conversation, Capt. Sapien emerged from the door leading to the superiors' offices. He looked very tired and unhealthy, his skin had a grayish tinge and his eyes sported deep dark circles. "Assault Squad to the briefing room in five minutes !– he ordered – We have a call!"
Terhentar bounced to her feet, already excited. "Gotta go." she said to her friend, rushing towards the briefing room.
It filled up in a few moments, the assault squad agents, some already in combat gear, some not, seating onto the dingy chairs with an adrenaline-ridden look.
As usual ,Lt. Hellboy, aka Red, and his wife were in the front row. During the first few weeks, Terhentar had a lot of issues regarding Lt. Hellboy. He was an half-demon, and she was a demon-hunter, it stood to reason that she didn't trust him, but with time she had to revise her opinion. He was a friendly guy and a thoroughly good person, without the racial issues most of the human agents had. She was quite ashamed of her racist prejudices and vowed never to judge anyone based on their heritage again. Moreover, they discovered a common love for cats and spent some time together feeding strays in dingy alleys. It was fun.
Lt. Hellboy was a competent fighter and cared for his underlings. She was honored to fight beside him.

Capt. Sapien entered the room, tearing her from her reverie. "We got a call from the dockside area. Demon on the loose. – he announced and the agents murmured. Not a good call. Somebody could remain injured. – The caller reports the presence of suspect humans as well, so be careful. The use of deadly force is authorized for this mission."
Terhentar inwardly cheered. Deadly force against demons was her cup of tea. She caressed the handle of her axes lovingly and held her sacred symbol in her sweaty hand.
"Anat, protect me and give me force." she prayed silently.
"Departure time in ten minutes." announced Capt. Sapien.
The agents got to their feet. Some rushed towards the lockers' room to collect their gear, while some headed directly to the garage. Terhi followed this last group, her gear already collected, twin axes and whip, over a bronze and murex-dyed leather armor, engraved with holy symbols and spells, a present from her coven when she was hired to the BPRD.

While she was on the stairs to the garage, her cell phone, an odious contraption, but necessary for her work, started ringing. "Agent Terhentar speaking." she identified herself.
"Terhi? Terhi, love, it's me Aibhlinn." her cousin called. It had been a while since she last heard from her, but decidedly this was not the right moment.
"Hi, Aibhlinn." she replied.
"I have a question for you. Do you know any battle priestess called Quenthel or Danifae?" Aibhlinn asked.
Terhentar mulled the question in her head for a moment. "No, I do not. Why do you ask?"
"Why do I ask? – her cousin repeated – My parents found a nameless guy unconscious in an alley and he keeps calling for those two, so maybe you knew them and could tell us who this bloke is."
"I am sorry, cousin, but I haven't heard about those people." she retorted, getting into the garage. She stopped, if she went any further the communication would be cut.
"You do not? It didn't hurt trying, did it? – Aibhlinn mused – Could you do me a favour? Could you ask your colleagues if they know them?"
"Sure, cousin. I'll send word around and call on your parents as soon as possible to check on the guy. – she agreed – Sorry about the haste but I'm departing for a mission, gotta go."
"Yes, that would be great. Brilliant. – Aibhlinn said enthusiastically – Good luck with your mission. See you!"
Terhentar heard the sound of the conversation being ended and replaced the phone into its holster, entering into the garage. The agents were already cramming themselves into the van. She climbed in as well and tried to find a seat.
Her curiosity was piqued about the unconscious stranger, she thought, buckling her seat belt.
After this mission she would make sure to pay a visit to her aunt and uncle.