A/N: I've played a little with the timeline in this chapter. Enjoy.
xXx
Nick jerked back as a cloth bag was pulled over his head without warning. He tried to swing around as the bag was tightened then he was slammed into the metal of the van beside him. The attack had come without any warning from either sound or his Grimm senses. He grunted at the impact before he was pulled back and slammed into the van again. His movements became sluggish in his confusion before his head was grabbed. Fireworks went off in his sight as his head was slammed into the side of the van for a third time and he went limp.
He slumped down while hands grabbed his wrists and yanked them behind him. He moaned at the pain in his head as someone pulled him back and forced him to his knees. The attack had taken less than a few minutes and not a word was spoken. He tried to gather his thoughts before something crashed into the back of his head and everything when dark.
xXx
Sean Renard looked up at the knock on his door to see Wu and another man and he waved them in.
"Vince Glover to see you, sir." Wu announced with a suspicious look at the blonde man beside him. "He said that he needed to see you urgently."
"Stay," Sean ordered as Wu turned to leave and the Sergeant stopped and blocked the doorway. "How can I help you, Mr Glover?"
The blonde paced forward smoothly and Sean picked him as a Wesen on that alone. He was a heavy-set man with a hard look in his eyes that made Sean believe that he had a record. Those cold blue eyes focused on him as he pulled a small parcel out of his pocket and placed it on his desk.
"They wanted me to give you that," Glover announced then crossed his arms over his chest.
Sean looked at the parcel and flicked his eyes to Wu before standing and picked it up. He opened it carefully then paused before his eyes flicked up to Glover.
"Arrest him," Sean ordered, harshly.
"What!" Glover yelped as he uncrossed his arms in shock. "They just said to give that to you."
Wu stepped forward and grabbed his wrist and Glover quickly turned but Wu had been ready as he clicked his hand cuff on one wrist. Sean stepped around his table and helped and they quickly had the man cuffed.
"They just said to give that to you!" Glover yelled and Hank arrived at the door. "What am I being arrested for!"
"Take him down to the cells," Sean snapped.
Hank and Wu shared a look over the prisoner's shoulder as they pulled the man out into the pen. Glover started yelling as Sean walked back around his desk and picked up the parcel and looked at Nick's mobile and a lock of his hair. He brought the hair up to his nose and sniffed, taking in the Grimm's scent. His shoulders tensed as he felt rage run through him and he wanted to go down to the cells and 'make' Glover talk. He held himself back, but it was a hard won battle.
He placed the hair down and pulled on some gloves before picking up Nick's phone and pressing the home button. The screen opened straight up and Sean felt his gut clench, Nick had a passcode on his phone. Someone had forced him to open the phone and take that feature off.
"Sir?" Hank asked and Sean looked up.
Hank and Wu cringed back and he knew that his mask had slipped. He didn't care as he focused on the officers.
"They have taken, Nick." Sean said coldly and held out Nick's phone. "Wu, see what you can get off this. They forced him to unlock the phone."
Hank cursed as Wu stepped forward with an evidence bag and Sean dropped the phone into it.
"Find his car," Sean demanded. "Talk to Rosalee, he said that he was going to see her."
Hank's phone suddenly rang and he looked at the screen.
"Looks like Rosalee heard you," Hank commented before answering. "Rosalee?"
"Hey, Hank." Rosalee greeted. "Have you heard from Nick? He said he was coming around but hasn't turned up and he isn't answering his phone."
"Hold on," Hank said. "I'm going to pass you over to Sean."
Hank held the phone out and Sean took it, his hands still covered with his gloves. He pressed the speaker button on the phone.
"Nick's been abducted," Sean told her, straight up. "He was going to meet you?"
"Yes," Rosalee replied. "But he said that he had to pick up some groceries before coming around. Said he would pick up a chocolate bar in payment for borrowing one of my books."
"When did you talk to him?" Sean questioned.
"About ten and he said he would take about twenty minutes."
"Did he say what market?"
"Ace's," Rosalee and Hank said at the same time then Hank added, "he must have gotten a craving for salami and they sell that Belgium chocolate that he likes."
Sean nodded.
"Rosalee," Sean said. "Can you get Monroe to meet Hank at the market?"
"Yes, of course." Rosalee answered.
"Thank you," Sean said and hung up.
He handed Hank's phone back just as Wu knocked and walked in.
"Patrol found his car," Wu told them. "It's at-"
"Ace's Market," Hank cut in.
"Old information already," Wu remarked. "That was a new record."
Sean grabbed his coat.
"Wu," Sean ordered. "Keep working on his phone. Hank, I'm coming with you."
"Yes, sir."
xXx
Monroe shifted from one foot to the other and had gathered more than a few looks as he waited for Hank. He looked up when he heard a siren before it cut off and he saw Hank's dark blue Charger as it pulled up out the front of the market. He cringed when Sean stepped out of the passenger side and he saw the look on the man's face. The fact that Sean didn't drive spoke louder than the expression on his face of how the Zauberbiest was feeling.
"His car is here," Hank reported and set out for the parking lot. "Shouldn't be hard to find."
Monroe glanced at Sean as they followed after Hank.
"Do we know who took him?" Monroe questioned.
"I can guess," Sean answered.
"You think they are going to use him to get to you?" Monroe questioned.
"Let's hope that's what they are planning," Sean said, coldly. "For they will have to keep him alive for that."
Monroe shivered, he didn't want to think about the fact they took Nick to kill him. It concerned him enough that someone had gotten the drop on the Grimm. The patrol car made finding Nick's beat up Land Cruiser easier. Sean waved his hand at the car and Monroe carefully stepped around it while Sean and Hank spoke to the officer. Even with all the scents around, he could tell that Nick hadn't been taken here.
Monroe followed the slight scent of Nick as it mixed with others and he weaved through the cars. He carefully sniffed the air before he came to a van and stopped. He stepped back then forward before crouching down. His nose twitching as he picked up Nick's blood. He placed his fingers on the pavement before bringing them up and sniffing.
"Hey!"
Monroe glanced over his shoulder to see a big, dark-skinned bloke staring at him.
"Did you do that to my van!" The man yelled and pointed to the side of his van.
"What?" Monroe yelped and jumped to his feet then looked at the side of the man's van. "No!"
"Did you see who did?" The man demanded. "Look at those dints. I'm calling the police."
"Hold on," Monroe cried and held his hands up. "The police are just a few rows along."
"What?" The man said and looked over his shoulder.
Monroe felt that temptation to take the threat down but held it back. He pulled his phone and called Hank.
"Did you find something?" Hank questioned.
"I'm three rows over to the right," Monroe reported and the man before him spun around. "I have one angry bloke with a dinted van."
"Who you talking to!" The man demanded.
"The police," Monroe answered as he looked over to see Hank and Sean. "See!"
The man shifted nervously as he eyed off the two cops.
"They aren't no cops," The man stated. "They don't have no uniforms."
"They are," Monroe insisted.
Hank flashed his badge when he reached them and the man relaxed
"This bloke damaged my van," the man spat, the moment that Hank stopped.
"Who are you?" Hank questioned.
"Um, Alfred Santos." The man stuttered as he looked between Hank and Sean.
"I'm Detective Griffin and this is Captain Renard," Hank introduced. "Just step over here, I have to ask you a few questions."
Hank led the large man off as Sean looked at Monroe.
"What did you find?" Sean demanded and Monroe led him between the cars.
"Blood on the ground," Monroe stated and then pointed to the side of the van. "And dints."
Monroe watched as the muscles in Sean's jaw tensed as he looked at the dints in the metal of the van. Nick hadn't gone without a fight and yet no one had reported a disturbance.
"Any other blood besides Nick's?" Sean questioned.
"Hard to tell," Monroe answered as he crouched down. "I don't think so."
"They must have taken him quick then," Sean commented. "They could have parked beside this van as cover."
"How did they set it up?" Monroe questioned. "This is a busy market."
"Probably used that to their advantage," Sean mentioned. "Used people to funnel him between these vans, then jumped him."
"How far does their power reach?" Monroe asked.
Sean crouched down and touched the pavement and Monroe knew what he was looking at. Monroe looked over to Hank talking to the bloke that owned the van and shivered. It made him think about what these people would demand and as Sean stood up and looked around with cold eyes. Monroe wondered how far the other man would go to get the Grimm back. Monroe's eyes settled on those dints as his wilder nature came to the surface and he wondered just how far that he would go as well.
xXx
Katrina Chavez looked up as Captain Sean Renard stalked into her office and shut the door behind him. She tensed and felt herself on edge as the man stepped towards her desk and she felt that dark edge around him. There was something about the tall man that still struck fear in her stomach as she looked into those cold pale eyes. She buried that deep but she was sure that the man picked up on her feelings.
"We have a problem," Renard said evenly as he let a few photos land on her desk.
"We have a problem or you have a-" Chavez cut herself off as she looked at the first photo.
"We have a problem," Renard repeated.
"Have they demanded anything yet?" Chavez asked as she looked at the photos of two hooded figures as they shoved the limp form of Nick Burkhardt into a van.
"No," Renard answered. "They sent me his phone and a lock of his hair. They want us to know that they have him."
"So that they can make a move?" Chavez questioned. "Without us acting?"
"Possibly," Renard mused as he stood there.
She looked at the photo of three men and squinted at one.
"Bonaparte," Renard stated. "The next photo is one of Steward and Bonaparte together. Whatever they are planning, he has something to do with it."
Chavez nodded as she looked at the last photo.
"What do you want me to do?" Chavez asked.
"Whatever you can," Renard demanded as he pressed a finger to her desk. "I need your help."
Chavez looked up at the man before her and could tell that he was holding onto his nature tightly and yet it was leaking through. She nodded slowly and was happy to know that the other man was on her side…well the Grimm's side.
"We'll help whatever way we can," Chavez promised.
"Thank you," Sean said with a nod.
xXx
Nick woke slowly with a pounding headache and with the cloth bag still over his head. He shifted slightly to find that he was handcuffed hand and foot in a seated position. He pulled on his handcuffs but they were secured tightly behind him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out or even if it was day or night. He pulled on the cuffs and they rattled but there was no give. He was trapped in his seated position, couldn't even move his legs. He knew in that moment that the people that held him, knew what he was and were taking no chances.
"Awake I see," a man said with a slight accent. "We can't have that."
Nick flinched away as he felt someone close to him but it wasn't enough. He felt a pin pick before he felt groggy as a drug worked into his system. He tried to struggle against it but it was futile as he was pulled back down into the darkness.
xXx
"Renard," Sean answered his office phone when it rang.
"Good morning, Captain Renard." A man with a slight accent, greeted him. "My name is Conard Bonaparte."
Sean tensed as he held his office phone tightly.
"What can I help you with, Mr Bonaparte?" Sean asked coldly as he texted Wu.
"Quite a lot, Captain Renard." Bonaparte replied. "You seem to be in a place of power and we would like your support on a grim matter."
"In what way?" Sean asked as Wu looked at his phone and glanced over at him and gave him a nod through the glass windows.
"Just a couple of words of support for a man running for mayor," Bonaparte said smoothly. "Nothing too extreme."
Sean tensed as he held his phone.
"And who would this person be?" Sean purred.
"I believe you already know him," Bonaparte remarked, casually. "A man named Andrew Dixon."
"I am aware of him," Sean agreed as he pulled out his phone and sent the man's name to Chavez to look into. "How will I know that my support will be rewarded?"
"Oh, Captain Renard." Bonaparte said. "Just know that it will be."
Bonaparte hung up and Sean dropped the phone on to the cradle in frustration. His phone beeped as Chavez acknowledged the text and would look into the man.
"He cut it off too early," Wu reported as he came to his door. "We did narrow it down but not enough."
"Send the information to Agent Chavez," Sean ordered as he stood up and paced.
"What did he want?" Wu asked.
"A ransom," Sean hissed. "Support in their cause for Nick's life."
xXx
Chavez quickly looked up the area that the PD had narrowed the phone call down too. She then brought up any property links to the Black Claw and cross referenced them. She typed away on the computer as she pulled up information that the PD didn't have access to and frowned. She then sent three addresses of properties that were linked to the Black Claw within the range they'd narrowed the phone call down to. She also warned Renard to take care and to inform her if they were going to move and she would help with support.
Renard quickly replied in agreement as Chavez brought up Andrew Dixon's file. She couldn't see any connection between the rebel group and the man and she frowned. What game was Bonaparte playing? She wondered if the man was aware of just how much danger that he'd put himself into.
xXx
Nick twitched slightly as he came to and blinked his eyes open. He could hear a scraping noise and looked over towards a steel bolted door. The flap at the bottom swung inward as a plate was shoved in and Nick slowly sat up on the side of the bed. He still felt groggy from the drugs as the smell of the food reached him. He looked around the bare room in interest, the bed that he sat on was the only piece of furniture, if you didn't count the bucket in the corner with a toilet seat on it.
There were no windows as he slowly stood and stumbled over to the door. He tried the handle first and wasn't surprised to find it locked. He then knelt down and pushed on the flap but it didn't move so he knew that it was bolted from the other side. He looked at the hinges on the door and took note of the fact that it would swing inwards. It would be useless to try and break the door open from this side, but it would give him a chance if someone opened the door.
He rapped his knuckles along the walls and could tell that they were brick all the way around. He looked under the bed but it was welded together with no bolts and nothing that he could use. It was even welded to the wall as Nick grabbed a hold of it and pulled with all his strength and weight but it didn't budge. He even pulled the thin foam mat off and looked at the metal struts but someone had even thought of that. He felt a chill at that, the person that had him contain was taking no chances and was probably aware of what he was. Nick stood up on the bed and tried to reach the ceiling but he fell short by a few inches.
He crouched down and jumped up with his palms up and elbows bent but hit the solid roof with a curse. They had thought of that as well and the only source of air was a grill, set high in the roof, on the other side of the room. Nick walked back over to the plate of food, which was a simple sandwich on a paper plate and he felt frustration run through him. They had given him nothing to work with and except for the shirt and jeans he wore, he had nothing else on him. They had even taken his belt and socks.
Nick sighed and sat back down on the bed and swore. At least the fact that they wanted to feed him, lead to the thought that they wanted to keep him alive.
xXx
"Sean," Andrew Dixon greeted with a smile. "How are you?"
"Very well," Sean replied as he shook Andrew's hand. "I heard that you have thrown your hat in for Mayor?"
"Wow," Andrew exclaimed with a laugh. "That got around quick!"
"Yea," Sean replied as he watched Andrew. "Yes, just heard."
"Have you come to offer support, Sean?" Andrew asked with smile. "Or competition?"
Sean looked at Andrew and returned the smile even if he felt like wringing the man's neck for answers. He got the feeling that Andrew was being played just as much as he was but without the benefit of knowing that he was a puppet on a string.
"Wouldn't dream of coming up against you, Andrew." Sean replied smoothly. "Not with the shinning record that you have."
Andrew laughed and waved him to a chair.
xXx
"Look at his support team," Sean suggested to Agent Chavez over his secure phone. "I don't believe that Andrew knows that he's being used."
"I agree," Chavez said. "I've looked at his record and it's spotless as you have said; his support staff is a different story. We are keeping a close eye on them. Sorry, that I don't have any better news."
Sean sighed and ran a hand over his head.
"How did you go with those locations that I gave you?" Chavez asked.
"I have someone looking into them," Sean replied evenly.
xXx
Josh tripped on a piece of wood and Trubel quickly grabbed his arm before he could fall. Josh gave her an apologetic look as Trubel glared at him. He took more care as they crept closer to the warehouse. He had pleaded with Trubel to go with her and he didn't want to mess it up. He was done with being scared, at any time he could become a Grimm and he wanted to be ready. Even if that day never came, he knew what was out there now.
Trubel pulled him down, just as a car drove towards them and they crept along into a better place to hide. Josh pulled out a notebook and drew a rough plan of the area they were in as another car drove up. He casually wrote down plates as well.
"I'm going to get closer," Trubel reported to him and wiggled her phone. "See if I can get some photos."
Josh nodded, he didn't have to warn her to be careful as Trubel slipped away. Josh carefully shifted under more cover as he watched the road in and took down any number plates that he could see and sent them to Sean. He was there for a while as four more cars pulled up and he sent the plates through, eight cars had driven past him. He was there for a good couple of hours before the cars started leaving again.
"Looks like it was some kind of meeting," Trubel whispered as she crouched down beside him. "A meeting of Wesen, did you send the plates to Sean?"
"Yes," Josh replied and passed her the phone.
Trubel tapped away on both phones as she sent through the information they had gathered. Josh watched as the last car drove out and the area fell quiet again. Trubel passed his phone back and he slipped it away.
"We'll check out the warehouse but I don't think that Nick is here," Trubel said quietly.
"Then we'll check out the next place," Josh told her.
Trubel nodded and they slipped away.
xXx
"Um, Sir."
Sean looked up at Wu in the doorway.
"Yes?" Sean asked.
"We have a little problem," Wu said as he shifted nervously. "Can you come out here?"
Sean sighed and placed his pen down and followed the Sergeant out to the pen and over to his desk. Hank looked over in interest as Wu logged into his computer and started bringing up the photos that Trubel had taken. He then felt a chill as Wu brought up police officers' profiles. He looked at where they worked and frowned.
"North Precinct?" Sean remarked as Hank looked over Wu's other shoulder. "Are they all out of North Precinct?"
"Mostly," Wu replied as he brought up other profiles.
"Any here?" Sean asked.
"None so far," Wu answered.
"Send this to Chavez," Sean ordered. "We don't know how far this reaches and the FBI will have better luck looking into this."
"It looks like it's reaches pretty far," Hank pointed at the computer. "How did we not see this coming?"
Sean sighed and ran a hand down his face as he stood up. The two officers looked at him in concern and Sean let his hand drop. He had not slept well since Nick had been taken over a week ago. He wasn't even sure if the Grimm was still alive as he looked around the pen.
"Keep working," Sean told them. "I have another meeting with Andrew tomorrow morning."
"How far are you going to go with this?" Hank asked and quickly looked around.
"I don't know," Sean replied. "Andrew is a good man and he seems to be innocent in this."
"And if they use his wife and kids to keep him in line?" Wu questioned.
"Then he'll just be a puppet," Sean answered. "Much like I am feeling at the moment."
"You are more like one of those puppets with a knife in their hand," Hank pointed out.
Sean snorted and gave the man an amused look. His phone beeped and he pulled it out and looked at another warehouse and flicked through the photos then paused. A cold smile stole over his face as he looked at what looked like a shipping container but with a brick wall and a steel door in the entrance.
"Looks like I should sharpen that knife," Sean purred coldly.
'Pull back,' Sean wrote in a text. 'Watch and send me a text if anyone arrives.'
Trubel agreed and Sean focused back on Hank and Wu.
"We might have a lead on Nick," Sean told them. "I'll pick up our bloodhound and find out."
Hank chuckled at Sean's description of Monroe.