Renard lounged in front of his computer desk, headphone comfortably resting on ears. He'd gone through the PI's files half a dozen times, until he was confident he'd absorbed all relevant data. Now it was time for the audio file. He tapped his mouse, closed his eyes and began to listen.
"Dude, where have you been? You went radio silent on me for like three days."
"Sorry, I just…it's been a lot dealing Juliette's memory loss and Hank's impeding breakdown. It's killing me that I can't do anything to help either of them. With Hank I keep thinking I should tell him the truth, but…"
"Yeah, might make everything a hundred times worse. I'm sorry man."
"It's not your fault, its mine. Ever since I became a Grimm it seems like every case I work involves Wesen in some way. Makes me wonder how I would have handled these cases if I hadn't inherited my little problem when I did."
"You really shouldn't call your Grimmness a problem, Nick. It sounds a little self-hating, and believe you me, I know self-hating. I mean I get it, genetic inheritances aren't always a picnic. When I was growing up there were definitely times I would have traded my right leg for the chance to be normal."
"Your right leg? Don't you mean your right arm?"
"I couldn't play the cello without my right arm, Nick."
"Of course, how silly of me."
"The point is we are what we are, and there's no point in wishing we were otherwise. What you got to do is focus on the positive. For example with me, I would have never fully appreciated the complete bouquet of a fine Bordeaux without my hyper sensitive nose. There's always an upside if you look hard enough."
"Can you tell me what the upside is of constantly hunting or being hunted by creatures from my childhood nightmares?"
"Well, apart from it leading you to meet a host of fascinating people like myself, and the kickass superpowers, it allows you to do what you've clearly always wanted to do."
"What's that?"
"Help people. That's why you became a cop, right?"
"Funny, you're the second person to say that to me this week."
"Really? Who was the first?"
"My boss."
"Smart guy."
"Yeah. Anyway speaking of helping people, does Rosalee have any idea about how to reverse Juliette's memory loss?"
"No, dude, sorry. She has looked more into what the cure entailed though."
"And?"
"And all I can say in that somebody out there must really like you."
"Why do you say that?"
"The counter curse calls for a kiss from someone pure of heart."
"You're saying someone snuck in to Juliette's room and kissed her while she was sleeping?"
"Yeah, but before you get all 'jealous boyfriend', you have to remember it could only have been with the purest intentions or else the kiss wouldn't have worked."
"So whoever did this it, is a really good person, someone trustworthy?"
"Not necessarily. A pure heart is a rare thing these days, so in order to meet the requirements of the cure whoever performed the kiss would have had to drink this nasty purifying potion. That's what the Hexenbiest was brewing for our mystery process is apparently pretty agonizing.
"Why would someone go through all that for me and not even let me know that they'd done it?"
"I'm more interested in the who than the why, to be honest."
"Actually that I know."
"What?"
"Before my Mom left she went to see Catherine. It didn't go well."
"So I saw on the news. You're mother's not exactly Ms. Congeniality is she?"
"Before Catherine died she said that only a prince could cure Juliette."
"A prince? A prince flew in from Europe to kiss your comatose girlfriend?"
"No, she said the prince was here, in Portland."
"Oh no. This is bad. This is really, really bad."
"Why? Why is this bad?"
"Nick, the reason most Wesen left the Old Country was to escape the persecution of the Royal families. These guys are seriously power hungry and not big on civil rights. If they're expanding their territory into US it is bad news for Wesen and bad news for you."
"Why me? What would the royals possibly want with me?"
"Probably the same thing they wanted with your ancestors; they want you to work for them."
"I guess it's too bad I already have a job."
"Don't joke about this, this is serious. This prince, to do want he did for Juliette, he must want you pretty badly. He won't be the only one either. If the Portland prince knows about you, then chances are the rest of his family does too. Remember how Ian told you Grimms were valuable?"
"Yeah. Now I kind of wish I was paying more attention."
"Consider yourself a shiny toy on playground with a bunch of mean little boys who don't like to share."
"Doesn't sound good."
"It's not."
"I found out who he is. The prince in Portland."
"You're kidding me?! Well who is it?"
"My boss."
"Excuse me?"
"My boss, Captain Sean Renard of the Portland Police Department."
"No way! No freaking way! So this whole time…all theWesen cases you've worked…"
"Yep."
"Does he know about me and Rosalee?"
"I don't know."
"About your mother?"
"I don't know."
"About the-"
"I DON'T KNOW, Monroe, okay? He had me completely fooled for at least a year now. Maybe longer. He might have known about my family's heritage before I did."
"What's he like?"
"If you asked me a week ago, I would have said he was a great boss; smart, compassionate, and hardworking. He doesn't socialize much with the detectives, but he knows everyone's family situation, and most importantly he always has our backs."
"And now that you know what he is, what do you think of him?"
"I don't know what to think. I keep thinking about Adalind about his possible connection to her. Was he behind what happened to Aunt Marie and Hank? Even if he was, what could I do about it? And why did he save Juliette!"
"I guess you could always ask him."
"I already did, he wouldn't give me a straight answer."
"You're kidding, right? I mean I was kidding, so you must be kidding too, right?"
"No, I confronted him a couple of nights ago."
"Are you serious? You went up to a prince and said 'Hey, I know your big secret!' Are you out of your mind?!"
"I was feeling a little emotional, with the Juliette thing, and the Hank thing, and the Mom thing, and then I find out I've been duped by someone I've worked with for years. It may have been a little impulsive."
"You think?! I can't believe you didn't at least call me for backup."
"Look, as far as I know, he doesn't know about you and Rosalee and I'd like to keep it that way, at least until I can figure out what he's up to."
"I appreciate the thought, but if the royals have taken an interest in you it's only a matter of time before they know everything from your astrological sign to whether you prefer boxers or briefs."
"Comforting thought. So what can I do?"
"Short of changing your identity and fleeing the country, I'd say not much. Even then they'd probably still find you. Grimms are too rare these days for one to disappear unnoticed. What will you do? Quit the force?"
"I thought about it, but it wouldn't do any good. If he wants find me, he'll me. So far he hasn't interfered with the way I do my job, either of my jobs actually. As for the rest of it, I guess I'll just have to take it as it comes."
"You mean WE'LL take it as it comes."
"I'll drink to that."
Renard hit he pause button on his computer screen and removed his headphones, pondering what information he had just acquired and how it could be put to the most use.
The first aspect was the relationship between Nick and this Monroe. Monroe was obviously some kind of Wesen, but all Renard had to go on was an enhanced sense of smell, and any number of races shared that attribute. Renard had been correct about Nick's using Wesen to assist him with his Grimm work. He'd assumed Nick had been using the instinctive fear most Wesen had of Grimms to force their cooperation. At the very least he'd expected Nick to have been paying for the information they provided him. What he had heard suggested that neither scenario was accurate. It would appear that Nick and this Wesen were friends. Good friends obviously, if the Wesen was offering to help Nick take on members of the royal family.
The relationship was clearly in defiance with the status quo. Renard's family, the Verrat, and the Reapers were only a few of the groups that would be extremely displeased if they discovered the alliance. Renard was torn between concern over what reprimands he'd face if the Verrat learned what "his" Grimm was up to and pleasure in envisioning the outrage of those self-righteous ethnic purists. Given Renard's own mixed parentage, it was no wondered the organization and he had never seen eye to eye.
The information Monroe provided Nick about the royalty families was unflatteringly accurate and could be turned to Renard's advantage, if handled in the correct manner. The better Nick understood the danger Renard's encroaching relatives presented, the more likely he was to ally himself with Renard. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as it were.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, was what he had learned regarding Nick's thoughts on Renard himself. Nick, as he had indicated in their previous conversation, harbored several misgivings, but wasn't completely decided against him. Renard had obviously been successful in creating a positive image for himself in his capacity as a police captain. He should continue to cultivate that persona and let Nick do his police and Grimm work without obstruction.
The biggest mistake Renard could make was forcing Nick's hand. He had tried that with Adalind and failed miserably. Patience, whatever his brother may think, was the smarter ploy. Let his relatives attempt to snatch the Grimm up. Nick would slip through their fingers and fall straight into Renard's waiting hands.
