So, you see, it wasn't supposed to be Alexander, just a random klaustreich living in the neighborhood, but two people actaully asked me if it was Alexander...

Also, there will be another chapter ( in length ) after this one, but it will work more like an epilogue with a big time skip... No, you won't get to see the wesen world explained to John, because this story is about the search for Nick, but it doesn't mean it never happened.


Chapter 4

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that Burkhardt had a baby with Adalind Schade?"

Farley Kolt was glowering right in the pudgy man's face, or rather, right above the man's face. Had John not known any better, he'd think the agent was actually angry at this Bud guy. Only, the question made it obvious that it wasn't the right answer to the current scene.

The detective wasn't sure what was the right answer, though.

"Bud" took a step back, and John was almost certain he saw the other stranger tense a bit, in a way that didn't exactly fit with how he had been behaving so far. Somehow the wild cat-like man reacted like a professional, and not a hoodlum, despite the clothes and the attitude.

A professional at what, John wasn't exactly sure either.

Incertainty was becoming a major trait of his life, it seemed. So far, Detective McClee only had the feeling that he could somehow see a glimpse of the bottom of the story, but without having the correct glasses to decipher.

It was frustrating.

"Erh... Maybe?"

John's attention snapped back to "Bud". The pudgy man seemed to be very willing to evade Kolt's stare, but without actually being able to look away. John guessed the agent was, again, doing his I-see-right-through-you thing.

"A grimm and a hexenbiest had a baby? Really?"

This seemed to get a reaction from Parker, but for the life of him, John still had no idea what Kolt was talking about.

"Bud" fidgeted under the stare.

"Hum, yeah... I mean, I don't think it was something totally planned, more like, it kind of happened after Adalind passed herself off as Juliette, just before Juliette went all evil and witchy and..."

Kolt raised a hand. The pudgy man immediately shut up.

The male agent took a hand to his forehead, eyes closed, surely processing the news.

"In other words, you are telling me that Adalind Schade, the woman who stood with two kids, one of which a baby, next to Sean Renard on TV, had a baby with Nick Burkhardt."

Then it clicked for John, Parker, and apparently the other stranger too. If that was really what had happened, whatever the reasons for it to happen, then there was no asking why Burkhardt and Renard had fought the other day. Somehow, the new mayor of Portand had stolen the detective's child.

Yeah right, because that was something that happened daily around here...

What the hell was that case, anyway?

"Bud" frowned. He didn't seem to understand what it meant yet. Either he hadn't seen the news, or he hadn't realized what had actually happened.

"What are you talki... Oh."

Annie Parker was showing him her cellphone's screen, with the video from after Renard's election playing. There was no mistaking who the blonde woman with a girl and a baby next to the mayor was, not for someone who knew her, and especially not as Renard did say who she was.

Of course, John only knew as much as he had seen from the video, since he didn't know Burkhardt personally, and the man had apparently kept some secrets to himself. Like, his baby, or the baby's mother. Because no one at the Central Precinct seemed to know about them, or someone would have told the detective at some point... Probably.

"Why did he do that?"

"That, Bud, is the million-dollar question."

Parker's phone rang at that moment. She checked the caller and glanced at her partner, mouthing "HQ". The female agent took a step back to take the call.

John took that time to really look at the second stranger.

At first, he had only seen some citizen amongst others, perhaps a bit thuggish at the corners, who disliked the authorities. Not a big deal, the detective met people like that all the time. They were usually difficult to deal with, but rarely a true problem, besides the fact that getting a testimony from them was like pulling an alligator's teeth.

Then he had been revealed to be one of Kolt's "people", whatever that meant.

And now, under the casual clothing, the aggressive attitude, and the apparent distrust, the detective could guess the outline of someone else. He didn't know if it was because, deep down, the man ached to be something more, or if it was simply because he was playing a role. A good actor hardly ever let anything be seen of what's behind his cover, but who knew if the stranger was that good an actor? Good, yes, but not the best...

Or John was trying so hard to see under the appearances of everything since this case had ended up to be his, that he saw secrets everywhere. Plausible too.

Eitherway, the stranger and Kolt were sizing each other up, as if readying for a fight.

Parker chose that moment to come back from her phone call, a scowl on her face.

"It seems that Renard wasn't that free in his role. Everything, from the people who helped him on his political campaign to the house he is living in, is Black Claw's. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept him on a leash, so to speak."

Kolt glanced away from the wild cat-like stranger and at his partner.

"Like, 'we're-happy-to-help-you-gain-power,-as-long-as-you-do-exactly-what-you're-told-to'? The 'if-you-don't,-we'll-slaughter-your-career,-and-possibly-a-few-newborns' act?"

Parker gave him a strange look, the kind that said "I have no idea where you get these ideas".

"No way to say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. From the file we have on him, I think Sean Renard is the kind of man who has difficulties chosing between his ambition and the moral thing to do. The kind of person who may chose the wrong path for wrong reasons, but who still try to make it up by offering his help to the very ones he endangered by chosing so."

Kolt scowled at the description.

"In other words, the kind of villain you can't completely hate. Just perfect. When do I get an Adolf Hitler, without remorse and morality, to shoot right in the head?"

Parker didn't deign to answer that, but John was pretty sure he saw a corner of the wild cat stranger tilt upwards for half a second.

Which somehow got the detective an answer on his interrogations. Because it was seemingly the moment the stranger decided he had enough with identity games, and that perhaps it was time to be frank. Or maybe he had simply decided that the two governmental agents were truly who they claimed to be, and it was safe to be truthful.

Or, last idea, the stranger had decided it was time to be frank, since he'd kill them all anyway in the end. John McClee really had the impression it was better not to make assumptions in this story, because everyone seemed to turn on everyone for no good reasons at some point. So it was perfectly probable that the man was in fact an assassin sent by this Black Claw group, and they were all going to die, except said assassin.

Paranoia was a man's best friend, was the overall impression this whole case left on the detective.

He really hoped he was only being paranoid. He didn't want to die yet.

Besides, he still didn't know where Nicholas Burkhardt, detective extaordinaire, had disappeared to.

Anyhow, the stranger's stance simply changed, from jittery and distrustful to perfectly controlled, possibly with a hint of a military straightness. His shoulders weren't slumped anymore, his back was perfectly straight, his hands were brought together in front of him. For an instant, John wondered if he wasn't actually a bulter, of all things.

Kolt and Parker froze in place as they registered the change in the man's attitude.

"Bud" took, not one, but four steps back, and ended up with his back against a wall.

"Hadrian's Wall, isn't it?"

Parker squinted at the man, finally looking past the dishevel looks and the crumpled clothes; in fact, she seemed to be seeing another man entirely, who sure looked like the stranger, but who dressed nothing alike. A man whom, perhaps, she had met once upon a time, before she heard of wesens and the secret face of the world, before a man came to her at the FBI and asked if she was interested in another job for the government. A man she had never thought she'd see again, but who had left cadavers in his wake. A man the Bureau had never managed to catch, not even after he had eliminated two of their suspects in a very curious case; a man they hadn't even identified.

Whoever he was, Annie Parker knew at least one thing: he was an operative, if not a spy.

But to whom did his loyalty go?

"Depends who's asking."

The man smiled slightly.

"Formerly I'd have answered the Wesen Council, but unfortunately there is no more wesen Council. Let's say I am currently looking for a job, one I would appreciate if it consisted in getting rid of Black Claw."

And yet another thing John didn't understand. Perhaps he should make a list and ask ten dollars for every question he wasn't asking. Because confidential or not, all this top secret business was getting difficult to bear. At least, that way, he'd be rich.

There was a long silence, during which the various agents and operatives and whatnots just stared at each other dangerously, ready to draw their guns at the slightest hint of a possible aggression. During that time, "Bud" didn't move an eyelash, keeping his breath, and John wondered idly if there was a chance he'd get out of this mess alive. Not particularly about this one mess, either, but about the whole thing. Like, was there a possibility that he'd be targeted by a bunch of terrorists before the end of the day, or was it more likely that he'd be the unwilling and collateral victim of this standoff?

He sure hoped not, but things weren't exactly going his way for now.

Then Farley Kolt, without warning, sneered a bit.

He didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd burst out laughing, especially not in this situation, so John surmised it wasn't a dismissive sneer, just his brand of laughter.

Parker raised a brow at him.

"Come on, Annie, don't you see the irony of the situation? We came here to search for a grimm, and we found the last Council operative alive instead. And both are on Black Claw hit list, from what we know."

"Your point?"

Kolt stared at his partner before rolling his eyes.

"You have absolutely no sense of humor, Annie."

Then he turned to the stranger and offered a hand to shake. After all, the man had said he was looking for a job, hadn't he? Hadrian's Wall was easy enough on the curriculum vitae expectations, as Kolt could testify, and they did need operatives with the stranger's skills.

Now that he was looking for it and that the man wasn't hiding it anymore, Kolt could see it too. The disguise was good enough, but he knew that face. He had seen it on a couple of monitoring screens during the last years, because yes, Hadrian's Wall didn't deal only with Black Claw, but more like with any wesen-related issues. Only, with Black Claw's apparition and the resurgence in the usual demands of "freedom", the organization had been upgraded by the government, so much that it almost rivaled the other official agencies. Almost.

"Farley Kolt. And you are?"

The man hesitated one insant, but eventually shook his hand.

"Alexander."

"Well, I suppose the higher ups will want to study your case a bit, and to talk with you, and all the usual process, but I'll still welcome you to Hadrian's Wall, since Annie doesn't seem to be in the mood. If you are sincere, I don't see why they would oppose your joining us."

John observed the scene dubiously. He had gathered that "Hadrian's Wall" was probably the name of the agents' organization, but it stopped there.

Maybe the detective ought not to try and pry, but figuring things out was more or less the point in his job, so he was having a hard time keeping his mind off the many confidential questions. It was like asking a dog not to bark, but to meow. He just couldn't do it.

A phone rang in the spice and tea shop, and everyone turned to look at John, who frowned. It took him a moment to realize that it was his cellphone; he still hadn't changed the ringtone, too busy with other things to bother with finding an appropriate sound.

The detective shrugged an apologetic look to the others, and answered the call.

"McClee."

The voice who spoke on the other end had something familiar to it, and John was almost certain he had already heard it in person, somewhere else, one day, even if they may not have talked. He couldn't place its owner, though. But he was certain it wasn't a stranger.

"Could you put your phone on speakers, detective?"

John glanced at the other people in the room. Parker, Kolt and "Alexander" seemed suspicious of the call, in a way only someone working for the government, the law enforcement, someone dealing with high financial means, or someone whose spouse had a disturbing habit of cheating on them, could be suspicious of a phone call.

Then there was "Bud", who just seemed curious, but overall looked like he wanted to be somewhere else than with the superspies & Cie. John could understand that feeling; he felt it too.

"Sure."

When the voice spoke next, the whole room could here it.

"Agent Parker, and Farley Kolt. Sorry to have kept you waiting, but I think you can understand why I wanted to be sure of you two, before reaching out."

The two agents shared a concerned glance, as they realized that they had probably been watched for some time already, and that whoever the man on the other end of the phone call was, he knew they'd be with the detective John McClee. Kolt was frowning, moreover, as the voice seemed familiar to him too, but only from a faraway and short memory. Replacing it would be difficult. He had met quite a lot of people in his life, and there were more than a bunch of them who could be calling right now, in such a fashion. With his... work history, he had spoken with many disreputable individuals whom he wouldn't be surprised to see again on Black Claw's side.

Annie Parker silently walked to one of the obscured windows, gun in hand. For all they knew, someone could be waiting for them to come out of the spice and tea shop. She pushed the sunblind a bit to try and peer outside, but the voice seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"No need to be on your guard, Agent Parker. You were the one trying to find me, weren't you?"

It made the woman stiffen a bit, but before she could say anything, "Bud" blinked, and came closer to the cellphone.

"Nick?"

Kolt arched both his eyebrows as he finally recognized the voice, a sarcastic smile tugging at his lips. Trust the grimm to give him an infarctus. Burkhardt really wasn't any better than his aunt on that point.

"Hello, Bud. I hope things aren't too difficult for the eisbibers and other pacifists?"

"No, no, it's alright... Kind of. But you, are you well? And Kelly, and Monroe, and..."

"Everybody's alive, Bud. Not everything is the best it could be, but for now it will do. Just, don't tell anyone you talked to us, unless you want to be in trouble. Can you do that?"

"...I suppose..."

"Perfect. Now, back to you, agents, and Alexander. If you want, we could meet right now. There is still much to do regarding Black Claw, and Juliet needs proper medical assistance, so I'd rather we didn't waste any time."

Parker and Kolt shared a look, and the female agent went back to the rest of the group. She was still a bit suspicious, but everyone here seemed to more or less recognize Burkhardt's voice, so it had to count for something, she guessed.

"What do you propose?"

"Well, Agent Parker, I am right outside the shop as we speak. As for where we could go, I'd say the church from our first joint case, Alexander."

The ex-Council operative winced a bit at the reminder. Calling it a joint case was putting it lightly, as always, but he supposed Burkhardt couldn't exactly come and say "the case during which you almost killed an innocent child", even less over the phone. Anyway, he did remember the church from that time; Alexander hadn't actually met Burkhardt there, but he had been to the church to examine the damages caused.

"The grausen."

"Yes, the grausen."

Alexander looked at the two from Hadrian's Wall for confirmation. They were in charge of this investigation, after all, and he was only tagging along for now.

Kolt shrugged, and Parker nodded. A church was as good a place as another for a meeting. And it was less likely to be an ambush too. Not every wesen had faith, but they could be believers regardless of their political views. Most of them would rather not murder someone in a church unless absolutely necessary.

"I see no issues with your proposition, Burkhardt."

"Great. Then I'm waiting for you in the grey van, a bit higher up the street."

A short silence.

"As for you, Detective McClee, I wish you success in your investigation, because I can't exactly come back yet. You did a good job so far... but I'm afraid you won't be allowed to put most of it on paper."

Before John knew it, Parker and Kolt had wished him luck and a good day, while precising that yes, he'd have to wait before submitting any kind of report on the case. Then they had left with "Alexander", leaving "Bud" and John to wonder about what they were going to do, now.

Eventually John sighed, defeated.

"What am I going to put in this report..."

Bud nodded briskly, even if he still wasn't sure of what was going on for the detective. Hell, he wasn't exactly sure of what was going on, period.

"All I know is that there's a group of terrorists out there which targeted a Portland detective for some obscure reasons. I don't even know what they're claiming!"

Oh, so this explained that. The detective knew about the situation without knowing about wesens. Well, Bud could understand why the man was confused. He himself knew about it all, and he was still confused. No wonder the detective would be confused.

Bud remembered that he had a family to go back to, now that he at least had the confirmation that Nick was alive. He glanced one last time at the detective, then hesitantly made his way to the door.

"Well, nice to have met you, Detective McClee, but I have to go... I hope you do..."

Bud didn't say one more word, staring at the gun pointed in his face by the person standing just outside the shop. Perhaps he shouldn't have thought of leaving. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have opened the door, and he wouldn't have seen the man with the gun. On the other hand, the man with the gun would still have been there, and he seemed set on entering the spice and tea shop with said gun. So the only good point would have been that Bud wouldn't have seen the gun first thing. It didnt change much of anything... Except for preventing a cardiac arrest due to fear, perhaps.

Bud took a few steps back as the man came in. He didn't like the muzzle turned his way, not at all.

The man with the gun woged, and Bud took one more step back. Klaustreich. Just perfect. Not that there were many other kind of wesens Bud would rather have threatening him with a firearm, but still. Klaustreich males weren't good guys, most of the time, and eisbibers were far from able to hold their own.

"We saw you speaking with the government agents, Wurstner. What did you tell them?"

We? Oh, splendid, there was more than one of them. Bud glimpsed at least two other persons behind the gun-wielding klaustreich. With his luck, they were armed too.

"I don't know what you talking abo..."

The man closed in, waving his gun dangerously close.

"Wurstner."

A feminin voice behind him asked the man to stop it while it wasn't too late, but the other guys were keeping the woman from reaching the one she called "brother".

"Too late, Wurstner."

The klaustreich pulled the trigger... And John McClee, still present in the spice and tea shop even if everybody seemed to have forgotten about him, spoke up, gun in hand.

"Police. Try anything, and I shoot."

Another one of the thugs tried to attack John at that moment, woging completely, but he only got a bullet in the spleen for his efforts. The others ran, leaving Bud, John and the wounded alone...