Power Paradox
Part 2
Chapter 13
When we left off- "When he goes home that night, Nick feels happier than he has been in months. Yet, as he pulls away from Monroe's house, waving goodbye to Harry -who's going to stay with the blutbad until he's healed, it's with a bittersweet smile."
Now-
January 21, 2012, late evening
Harry waves goodbye, a small smile on his face before he closes the door behind him. "That went pretty well." He joins Monroe in the kitchen, tutting the older man who is trying to put away the clutter as a kettle boils. "Go sit down, I'll take care of the mess and make your tea." Harry gently nudges the blutbad towards the living room.
"I'm not a child you know." Monroe groutches petulantly but he lets Harry have his way regardless. "The stuff you got is pretty good, my head doesn't feel like it's about to explode anymore." He sits back on the couch with a pained groan. "Can't say the same for the rest of me though…"
Harry shakes his head with a chuckle. "Bit old to be a child." He quips then makes his way back into the small kitchen. Grabbing the brown paper bag on the counter from the apothecary, he opens it to find the anti inflammatories and tea to mix it with. He's thankful Freddy had included detailed instructions with the lot because he can't quite remember what does what.
"I'm not old!" Monroe shouts from the couch with indignation.
When Harry returns, tea in hand, he's pressing his lips together to keep himself from laughing at Monroe. The blutbad likes to grouse a lot but it's easy for Harry to see it's all for show, a bit like Ron really. He smirks before handing a delicate porcelain teacup over to the blutbad. "Is that why you dress like the lovechild of an old librarian and a lumberjack."
"Right, well, we can't all look like we just came out of some James Bond movie." Monroe snarks with a shake of his head, pointing to Harry's dark navy suit."You know you really don't have to watch over me like this."
Harry waves the man off as he sits down across from Monroe, taking the seat Nick had been occupying. He lounges back slightly, taking a deep relaxing breath. He hadn't exactly had the time to change out of his work outfit. He grins and winks. "I'll take that as a compliment." Harry leans in, expression turning serious. "And again, it's really no trouble. I'd be a rather poor friend if I didn't make sure you don't snuff it in your sleep. Concussions are serious business. So I don't wanna hear about it anymore. You're stuck with me."
Monroe gives Harry an exaggerated eye roll and huff. He takes a sip from his tea, closing his eyes with an appreciative rumble. He pauses for a moment before looking at Harry with a curious expression. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something?"
Harry considers the request then nods. "Well you can certainly ask. No guarantee I'll answer but I won't lie to you."
"Fair enough. Why did you agree to help us out? I mean, a siegbarste is already something, but now reapers... Most folks see Nick and they either run away or try to kill him. And like, you're a. Well." Monroe drifts off, visibly uncomfortable with the direction of his query.
Harry takes a sip of his beer. "You mean because I'm a zauberbiest? Not exactly supposed to be the charitable sort." He gives Monroe a rueful look.
Monroe clears his throat, nodding his head. "Well, yeah. No offence. I know I don't really have room to talk here. It's just you're really not what I'd expected given what I've heard about you guys."
Harry laughs the man's worry off good naturedly, he understands why Monroe would be confused by someone like him. Most people find Harry confusing at best. "No offence taken. I'm well aware that the reputation my species has earned isn't completely unfounded. I don't let that dictate who I am though. I've been told I can be a bit stubborn." He smirks at Monroe's snort. "As for why I'd help a grimm exterminate a siegbarste with a brutal history? I won't say it was just because it was the right thing to do." He considers his next words. "Let's just say that until I got the job to investigate Nick, my life had been well…"
"Boring as fuck?" Monroe cuts in with a knowing look and a roguish grin. "Yeah. I can't say my life was a beacon of excitement before I met Nick either. I mean, sure I've almost gotten shot at a few times for him but he really cares about doing the right thing, even for guys like us. Definitely not the boogeyman from my gran's stories. It's hard to turn your back on someone like Nick."
Harry nods thoughtfully. He can't agree more with the blutbad. Nick isn't just different for a grimm, he stands out as a person in general. "I can't deny that he does make an impression."
Monroe hums, amusement crinkling the laugh lines around his eyes. "Sure seems to have made an impression on you." The comment has a teasing edge to it, the blutbad sips his cup coily and watches Harry squirm.
Harry's throat seems to dry up a bit, light worry making his heart rate spike. He isn't an idiot, he's aware that his interest in the grimm is becoming complicated. He had thought he'd been doing a good job of keeping his unexpected, and totally inappropriate, attraction under wraps.
"Relax, it's cool. I won't say anything to him about it." Monroe interrupts Harry's tumbling thoughts.
"How did you know?" Harry asks with a frown. It's just a little bit of attraction, not the first time it's happened. It would pass eventually, Harry is sure of it. Well, pretty sure.
"It's not super obvious if that's what you're worried about." Monroe shakes his head, he still looks amused by Harry's inner struggle of course. "I doubt Nick has noticed. Yet. He's kinda scary good at reading people though, so this is more of a heads up sorta thing. Plus, you know, there's Juliette..."
Harry nods, scratching his beard absentmindedly. "Don't worry, I know what the score is. He's just…" Ridiculously attractive with an amazing personality and pretty much exactly Harry's type. Aside from the whole having a girlfriend thing that put the grimm in the friend only category.
He's hesitant to voice his inner thoughts to Monroe though. Normally, if he was going to talk about this with anyone, it would have been with Hermione. Harry doesn't think he's at the point where that would be necessary anyway. Plus, he hasn't really had the opportunity for more than quick check ins every few days with either of his best friends. "It'll pass. Still doesn't tell me how you figured it out?"
Monroe takes another sip of tea then sets his cup on the coffee table. He looks at Harry with a raised eyebrow and a I caught the canary grin. "The nose knows, man." The blutbad taps his nose, chuckling at Harry's stunned expression. "Plus you're always looking at him when you think no one will notice…"
"Should have thought about that." Harry admits begrudgingly, he shakes his head with a self deprecating huff. Blutbaden are known for their amazing sense of smell and Monroe had woged at least once while Harry had been subtly admiring Nick. "That's a bit embarrassing. Sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for. I get it. Sorta. He's got that dark mysterious broody thing going on. I mean, Nick isn't exactly my type but I'm not blind either." Monroe chuckles at Harry's reddening cheeks. "I just want to make sure you don't get your heart too invested."
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." Harry insists again, though he's not sure who he's trying to convince more; Monroe or himself. He finishes his beer in one last gulp. "Anything else you want to know?" He changes the subject shamelessly. He doesn't hide his relief when Monroe nods his head after a few moments.
"When we first met, you didn't bat an eye when I told you I was wieder." The older wesen man trails off, looking down at his teacup.
Harry understands the nature of Monroe's inquiry right away. This is a subject he's infinitely more comfortable with. "I know a lot of folks aren't as, understanding, of that particular life choice." Becoming a wieder wesen tends to be a touchy subject at the best of times, especially among the more predatory wesens. It's often seen as a sign of weakness, or worse. Weider wesen are treated like traitors to their ancestors and are often ostracized by other wesen. That sort of alienation from one's own community can be too much to handle for a lot of people. "I'm not unfamiliar with the feeling of being judged for something that doesn't affect anyone else."
Monroe snorts bitterly. "You can say that again."
"I've got an honorary uncle who's a wieder blutbad. It's how I was introduced to that philosophy." Harry laughs at Monroe's surprised face. "He's been my father's best friend since their school days, and he was my professor for several years. Remus is an absolutely fantastic teacher and one of the kindest men I've ever known." Harry smiles thinking of Remus, the blutbad is still happily teaching at Hogwarts.
Monroe is leaning in slightly towards Harry, openly curious. "You know a blutbad named Remus? Bit obvious of his parents isn't it?" He asks incredulously.
Harry tries to keep a straight face but fails miserably. He's always found the odd naming habits of british wizards to be amusing if often in a tragic way. "That's not even the best part, his last name is Lupin."
Monroe burst out in a loud laugh but quickly flinches back with a wince. "Oh boy, that still pulls." He hisses, gently patting his ribs.
"Enough excitement for one night I think." Harry stands with a stretch. "Off to bed with you."
"Maybe I should call you Merry Poppins." Monroe jokes after attempting to stifle a yawn.
"You know just because I'm british doesn't mean you can turn me into some pop culture cliche. 'Sides, I never actually saw that one." Harry crosses his arms, waiting for the usual outrage over his statement.
"Dude! That's a classic!" Monroe looks positively scandalized.
Harry shrugs. "I'm more of an action movie man. Now stop clutching your pearls and go to bed." He waits patiently for Monroe to get up. "I'll be on the sofa if you need anything." Monroe had previously offered to make up the spare bed upstairs but Harry had already insisted, several times, on staying on the same level as the blutbad. He didn't mention he could always charm the thing to be as comfortable as a bed.
Monroe concedes with a shake of his head. "I'm going because I'm tired, not because you told me too." His serious facade cracks after a second. He smiles as broadly as his sore face will allow him to. "Thanks again for helping me out. Good night Harry."
"Night Monroe." Harry waves the older man off then starts milling about the living room, picking up what's left of their cups and beer bottles. Just as his thoughts start to drift to the grimm, he stops in his tracks at a sudden realization. He curses under his breath, quickly going to the kitchen to free his hands. Digging out his cell phone as soon as he's set everything on the counter, he types out a text.
-Nick, got the info you wanted about your peepers. Call me when you can.
The response comes a few minutes later while Harry is spelling the couch for maximum comfort. He fumbles with his phone a bit in his rush, almost dropping in on the ground.
-Just got home, can I call you after Juliette's gone to bed?
Harry glances at his watch, it's nearly ten. He sends back a quick -of course. He remembers what it's like to come home late to someone else and doesn't begrudge the grimm for wanting to spend a few moments with his girlfriend. Heck, Harry himself hadn't always been so considerate to his partners and it had cost him.
He settles down on the sofa with a cup of tea in one hand before he drapes a heavy quilt over his legs. Harry decides to pass the time on his phone, catching up on his rather neglected inbox.
Harry's bike is speeding down his favorite mountain road, the sun is going to set soon and he accelerates a bit. They're almost at their destination and Harry wants to make sure he makes it there before sunset. Strong arms tightened around his waist as he banks heavily during another sharp turn on the twisty road. He chuckles shamelessly, enjoying the warmth pressing harder against his back.
"You did that on purpose!" The yell from behind him is muffled by their helmets and the wind. Harry can tell that the man with him is just as exhilarated as he is reproachful though.
Harry spots the sign for the viewpoint a short distance away and he speeds a little more. It earns him a light pinch to his side. "Fine! Spoil sport." He slows down just in time to pull over onto the extended shoulder. The grinding of his wheels as they stop in the gravel drowns out the response from Harry's passenger.
He pulls off his helmet as soon as he feels the weight of his bike shift.
"I should give you a speeding ticket for that." Nick threatens cheekily once his own helmet is off.
Harry reaches out to grab Nick's hips, gently tugging the other closer. He smiles playfully, batting his eyelashes. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind officer?"
Nick rolls his eyes while fighting back a smile.
They last about ten seconds before descending into fits of laughter.
Harry takes a deep breath, inhaling Nick's happy scent. He shakes his head at their ridiculous behaviour and tugs the grimm in even closer.
The younger man comes willingly once his own chuckles have stopped and tucks himself against Harry's front to watch the view. "I've lived here for years and had no idea this place was here." He looks up to Harry with bright blue eyes. "I guess I won't give you that ticket after all." Nick quips as he turns back to look at the sun setting over the pine covered valley.
Harry's chest tightens, he licks his lips in anticipation. "Can I kiss you now?" Want gnaws at his insides.
Nick turns to face Harry, leaning in close with his hands braced on Harry's arms. With Harry sitting on the bike they're nearly the same height. When Harry makes to stand, the grimm holds his shoulders down. "I kinda like the fact that I don't have to stand on my toes to do this." With a confident grin Nick leans in to kiss Harry.
Harry startles awake, his phone ringing on his lap. He rushes to answer, shaking himself out of his sleep as best he can. That had been some dream... His heart is still thudding hard against his chest. "Black." His voice cracks a bit so he tries to cover it with a small cough.
"Hey Harry. Sorry to call so late." The grimm apologizes quietly.
"No, no, it's fine. Glad you called." Harry sits up straighter, running his spare hand over his face. He's still a bit keyed up because of his ridiculously vivid imagination and doesn't know how to feel about hearing Nick's voice right now. It's great and terrible all at once.
"So, what did you find out?" Nick asks anxiously.
"It's pretty much what I thought, just some curious locals, they're harmless. Unfortunately there was a bit of complication along the way." Harry says the last part with obvious discomfort, he feels like a tattletale…
There's a frustrated puff of air on Nick's end. "Lemme guess, you saw Juliette spying on their house?" The man sounds tired and exasperated.
"Ah, so she told you about going there?" Harry does his best not to sound too relieved that he isn't the one delivering that news. The affirming grunt he gets makes it obvious the grimm isn't thrilled about Juliette's attempt at investigation. "Well, I can say undercover work is not her forte." He tries to lighten the mood with a bit of humour.
It works a little, the grimm laughs darkly then goes quiet for a moment. "How badly did she scare those people?"
"Well, it's a family of eisbibers. The mother was terrified, I didn't even try going to the house. No way she would have talked to me right then. I've got some contacts with the local Lodge though so I made sure everything was ok. Also, I made it a point that your house wasn't an attraction sight. You'll be left alone." Harry wants to say more but he knows he doesn't need to tell Nick that what Juliette had done was stupidly dangerous. She was lucky the wesen family she'd decided to spy on hadn't been the more aggressive sort.
"Thanks Harry, I appreciate you looking into this." Nick's relief is audible over the phone. "And for everything else you've done for me. I." The grimm grows quiet again.
Harry's leg starts to bounce nervously. He isn't sure what to say given the sudden awkwardness. "I'm glad I could help. I know what it's like to have to tread in different worlds. It's what friends do; look out for each other."
"When all this started I was on my own. I'm still getting my feet under me you know." Nick coughs. "I'm not… I'm not great at making friends. The job already makes having a social life difficult. But this grimm thing."
"Say no more Nick." Harry knows exactly what Nick is trying to say. "I understand what it's like."
"Yeah, I guess you do." There's a smile in Nick's tone. "Thanks again Harry. I'll let you get back to sleep. Good night."
"Anytime Nick." Harry bites his lip, there's so much more he wishes he could say but he can't. "Good night."
February 3rd mid day
Nick tells Hank about the man from the crash. He doesn't know what sort of wesen they're dealing with yet. The man had woged right before he'd died. He still warns Hank so the man can be aware that the case might go weird. He's hoping it's just a coincidence that the driver of a truck full of stolen organs and blood is wesen. The look he shares with his partner as they head back to the station says Hank doubts that as much as he does.
He's just about done entering the driver's wallet contents into the system when Hank gives him the result from his search. All of the driver's documents are forged or stolen, even the car's plates are stolen from another city. All they've got to go on is a set of prints to half a dozen unsolved crimes from all over the state. Basically, they've got nothing solid to go on.
Nick checks the area around their desk, it's almost the end of the day but the precinct is still full. Not exactly a great place to talk about the mysterious wesen crime they seem to have on their hands. He spots Wu heading their way, the sarcastic sergeant doesn't look like he's about to deliver great news.
Sergeant Wu steps up next to Nick, evidence bag at his side, it's the dead wesen's cell phone. "Are we depressed?" He asks drily, accurately reading Nick and Hank's down trodden expressions.
Nick suppresses his laugh, not wanting to encourage Wu's usual antics. "Were you able to get anything off the phone?"
"Yes… And no." Wu wiggles the bag into view.
Hank rolls his eyes. "Can't you just give us a yes?" The older detective whines.
Wu slaps the cell phone down on Hanks desk. "No." The filipino man shakes his head slightly before explaining the problem. "Obviously a burner, but, we were able to pull the S.E.N. off the SIM card. Of course the service provider will need a warrant before they release the records, and that would be up to you." Wu gives them a half apologetic smile before walking away.
"That's all you got?" Hank shouts after Wu in frustration.
Wu turns back around then and dramatically waves his arms up. "That's all I got." Clearly done with them, he walks away with a shake of his head.
Hank leans in towards Nick once the coast is clear again. "So we've got a bunch of blood being illegally transported, a dead kid missing seven pints, and some mystery creature."
Nick nods, considering all the evidence so far. "Maybe we should check to see if there's a connection between all of that."
With the day almost over there isn't much for them to do, not officially anyway. It could take another day or more just to get the warrant to get more information from the driver's phone. They would also have to wait until morning to compare the DNA results from the samples at the accident with Steven's. Hank has agreed to take care of the official police work so Nick can be free to check things out on the grimm side of things. This way they cover more ground and hopefully one of them will stumble on a lead sooner than later.
Nick isn't quite ready to show the trailer to his partner as they haven't had much time to seriously talk about grimm stuff, as Hank calls it. He doesn't want to overwhelm his friend. It's better if Nick does some digging first, he doesn't want to get something wrong and put Hank's life at risk.
Nick heads to the trailer instead of going home, he wishes it wasn't becoming such a habit. There's still so much he doesn't know though and the trailer is the one place he truly feels safe these days.
Nick starts going through books he hasn't memorized yet. He scans through dusty tomes, many of them aren't in english, for about an hour before he finds the face he's looking for. He reads the name out loud, trying to remember Monroe's pronunciation lessons. "Geiers." He moves on to the text below the drawing of the vulture like wesen. "Have an innate ability to move through trees, staying above their victims, who walk beneath them, unaware." That certainly didn't sound very good. "Geiers are the most vile of all. They harvest human organs while the victims are still alive, seeming to take pleasure in the savage pain they cause." Oh, a bunch of sadistic vultures, absolutely wonderful. "Carnage on the front lines has provided them with a seemingly endless supply of viscera for their terrible trade."
Nick leans back into his chair with disgust. The implications are rather clear, it's also clear he needs more intel and some more appropriate back up. He hesitates over who he should call, he ends up calling Monroe first. "Hey, what are you doing for dinner?"
"I'm glad everything is going well for you over there Harry. I do have one question though?" Hermione's tone is deceptively casual. Harry knows her too well not to at least suspect there's a trap at the end of the question.
They'd been catching up for over an hour, Hermione doing most of the talking of course. She'd begun a new project shortly before Harry had left for Portland, something about improving apparition. By the way she'd been going on about it, Harry was sure she'd be done any day now.
Harry for his part hasn't actually said all that much about his vacation. Unfortunately, he knows that his evasion is a giant red flag for Hermione. "Yeah sure, what is it?"
"Well you've been at this for over a month now… When do you think you'll be coming home?" Hermione's question surprises Harry, he hadn't expected that.
"I umm…" Harry had actually been thinking about that very question himself. Ever since Monroe had asked when he would stop living out of the hotel and if Harry needed help finding his own place. The truth is that Harry is actually liking it here, more than he expected.
"You really like it there don't you." Hermione says knowingly, she sounds fondly exasperated.
Harry sighs, somewhat relieved. "Yeah, I think I really do. I think I'm actually-" He's interrupted when his phone vibrates against his ear. "Hold on, I have to check something." He mumbles quickly before checking his screen.
It's from Nick. -Can you come to Monroe's for dinner? Got a case.
Harry grins. They text fairly often now, usually it's wesen related. Nicks has taken to sending him pictures of various sketches of perps the grimm comes across while working. Sometimes though, they just ask each other about normal everyday things. "Sorry Hermione, gotta go."
"Alright Harry, don't think we won't talk about this some more though." Hermione warns him playfully.
"Thanks Hermione, have a good day!" Harry hangs up once Hermione has wished him a good night and warns him to stay out of trouble. As usual, he doesn't make any promises.
He sends a -See you there off to Nick then sets about getting ready. If he spends a few extra minutes in front of the mirror, well, no one needs to know about that.
Harry walks out of Monroe's kitchen, chilled wine in hand. He'd arrived shortly before Nick and had helped the blutbad with the last of the meal preparations. After having lived in the man's home for a few days, Harry visited his friend frequently. He's grown comfortable with the space and Monroe doesn't bother arguing about him helping out anymore.
Nick is already deep into talking about his case, describing all the gory details just as Harry sits down. Monroe doesn't look very impressed with the chosen topic of conversation though. Harry tries not the chortle and simply listens while poking his potatoes.
"Now, there was a heart, kidney, liver, gallbladders, and a lot of blood being transported when he got hit." Nick takes a bite of his food with gusto, completely oblivious to Monroe's discomfort. "Driver had a fake I.D., we can't identify him. The only thing I know for sure is that he was a geier. Saw him right before he died." He takes another bite before he finally notices the look Monroe is giving him.
Harry is trying, with great difficulty, not to choke on his salad. He's used to cop talk around the table, he's guilty of doing the same thing. Holly has had to remind him on several occasions that the dinner table isn't the place for gross talk.
It also probably brings up urges in the blutbad that a grimm should take into consideration. Then there's the usual knee jerk reaction he normally gets whenever geiers are mentioned that immediately makes Harry look like he's chewing on a lemon.
Nick takes a sip of his wine to clear his mouth. "What?" The detective blinks owlishly between Monroe's bitch face and Harry's ambivalence.
"Do you ever have, like, a normal conversation?" Monroe asks after putting down his fork. "I'm just saying it would be nice to talk about other stuff before getting to all the blood and guts."
Harry breaks and laughs, because this whole thing is ridiculous. It earns him an odd look from Nick and a glare from Monroe. "Don't hold it against him. It's a cop thing, you sometimes forget that not everyone wants to know all the gory details." He chuckles a bit longer before going back to his food. His right leg begins to jiggle under the table.
"Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away." Nick sounds embarrassed, he pokes his fork around his plate haphazardly.
Harry sighs, he looks over to Monroe and tilts his head towards Nick. He hopes his facial expression is enough for the blutbad to get the message. The grimm had called them for this very reason and they had agreed to help.
Monroe takes pity on Nick. He huffs out a begrudging, "Fine."
Nick's head snaps back up, the younger man is beaming at them.
Harry is starting to think he just got played by Nick's kicked puppy routine. "If there's organs involved then yeah, it's probably a geier deal." He supplies darkly after another bite. Harry recalls the last time he'd gotten a call from the council to deal with a geier gang; it had been roughly four years ago, in the south of wales. He grinds his teeth together, the memory of what he'd found them doing still haunts his dreams. It's the reason he'd been put behind a desk in the first place.
Nick tilts his head, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean by deal?"
Monroe answers after taking a sip of wine. "Geiers are like herbalists, you now?"
Harry snorts, giving Monroe an incredulous look. "Herbalists my ass! Bloody butchers and drug dealers." There's a bit of a growl at the back end of his sentence.
Monroe puts his hands up. "Well, yeah I mean… It's not like I go for that sort of thing but I think Nick should know why they're still in business." The blutbad looks a bit flustered by Harry's sudden outrage.
Harry rubs his forehead. "Sorry. It's just. I've seen what they do." He looks towards Nick. The grimm is looking back with obvious concern. Harry waves for Monroe to elaborate while he calms his own thoughts.
"You sure you're ok?" Monroe waits for him to nod before addressing Nick. "So, you know how some humans use exotic animal parts, like bear gallbladders and rhino horns for, like, you know, medicinal remedies and aphrodisiacs and stuff... Which is ridiculous, because it has no effect whatsoever." The blutbad rolls his eyes before continuing. "Here's the thing though. Human parts for creature... enhancement? That actually works great." Monroe says the last bit with a little bit too much enthusiasm.
Nick looks shocked, turning to Harry for confirmation. "Seriously?"
"Yup." Harry says before popping another potato in his mouth even though he isn't hungry anymore. He hates that it's true, that that sort of thing still happens.
"Our exotic animals are you." Monroe adds unhelpfully.
Nick leans back in his chair. "Wait, you're telling me that geiers deal in human organs?"
Monroe nods his head, now fully into the conversation. "Well... okay. This might be a little awkward, but for example, you probably didn't know that your testicles... I mean, not your testicles specifically, but that part of the human male anatomy…"
Harry looks at Monroe with wide eyed horror, his brain is screaming at the blutbad to shut up but the words don't come out. It's like a train wreck and he can't look away. He can see Nick turning all different kinds of green from the corner of his eye.
Monroe just keeps going. "Have a kind of a Viagra-like effect on certain species. Not that I ever had need to... I mean, everything works great." He petters out, finally realizing that maybe he's said too much.
"Really mate?" Harry utters, completely mortified.
Nick pushes his plate away, he looks nauseous. "Oh, no. That wasn't awkward at all." He gives Harry a resigned look before turning to Monroe. "Okay, so where would someone like you guys get something like that?"
Harry shrugs, he hadn't even been aware that there was a market for geiers in the city. He looks to Monroe, the blutbad is still fiddling with his plate uncomfortably.
"Um... There's a place that I've heard of. Not that I've ever, you know, been there... or anything." Monroe shifts in his seat. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it's where Harry got my medicine for when I got jumped."
Harry's head snaps up. "You're fucking kidding me? Calvert is dealing in human parts?" He hisses out in anger. The fuchsbau was supposed to be a council informant, and he was dealing on the side.
"I'm not sure… Just rumours man." Monroe not so subtly inches his chair further from Harry. "You really don't like those guys uh?"
Harry scowls. That would be a massive understatement. There's a bigger issue here for him to worry about though. Now that he knows there are wesen in Portland actively breaking the Codex he can't ignore it. Most of all, Harry wonders how Sean could not know about this. Anger pools in his stomach and sticks in his throat at the thought that his uncle could be turning a blind eye to geier activity.
"Excuse me." Harry walks away from the table without waiting for a response. He needs some space to think things through. The smart thing would be to call De Groot right away to notify him of the geiers' actions. That didn't deal with Nick or Sean though. Besides, he already knew what De Groot would say; Harry would be expected to deal with the problem as quickly and quietly as possible.
"Harry?" Nick joins him on the small porch. "You know, Monroe and I are here to help deal with the geiers, right?. Can't forget about Hank either. You don't have to do this by yourself, you've got friends here." The grimm offers gently.
He's read Harry surprisingly well and it unsettles him enough that he lets his guard down a little. He smiles down at the shorter man, the porch light shining behind them. Despite knowing better, Harry wishes the moment could be different.
"It's not that simple." Harry starts off and hesitates. He could take care of everything on his own, it wouldn't be that hard. Nick was a grimm though, and a cop, it was literally the man's job, his case. Why shouldn't they work together, Harry didn't have to sneak behind his back. He was already pretty involved in everything. De Groot wouldn't care as long as it was dealt with. Sean had agreed to let Harry have his way as long as he kept his uncle's secret.
Mind made up, he motions for Nick to head back in. "Let's go back inside, Monroe needs to know about this too."
Once back inside, Harry settles on the sofa. He thanks Monroe when the blutbad hands him his refilled glass.
Nick sits down at the other end of the sofa. "So what do you need to tell us?" His attention is solely focused on Harry.
Harry takes a moment to order his thoughts and weigh his options. He drains his cup, he's got a fair bit to say. "How much do either of you know about the Wesen Council?" He waits patiently, studying his friends' reactions.
Monroe's reaction is instant. "Oh. My. God." The blutbad clearly knows who they are and no doubt has jumped to the mostly correct conclusion about who Harry works for.
"The what?" Nick asks at the same time as Monroe's exclamation.
Harry can see Monroe's sudden worry but there's not much he can do other than keep going. "The Wesen Council is essentially the wesen government and law enforcement. For centuries they've been responsible for making sure that the wesen population remains secret."
Monroe purses his lips, like he doesn't quite agree with Harry's oversimplified explanation.
Nick speaks up before Monroe can put in his two cents. "Law enforcement?" He asks with a frown. The grimm studies Harry like he's putting together pieces of a puzzle.
Harry sighs at the thought of giving Nick another history lesson. He sticks to a basic overview. "We don't have many laws, more like honour codes I guess. The one being broken in this case is the killing and exploitation of kherseites. Wesen take the code very seriously, but there's always folks who don't care about that. We enforce the laws as best we can to keep everyone safe." He'd said we on purpose.
"So you're like a cop for wesen?" Nick asks perceptively.
"In a way, it's more similar to what a grimm is supposed to be; judge, jury, and executioner." The last bit isn't Harry's favorite part of the job and he's thankful it's not a decision he's had to make often.
"I'm gonna go refill my glass." Monroe excuses himself abruptly and scurries off to the kitchen.
Harry leans back into his chair with regret. He knows it's a lot for other wesens to take in and worries Monroe might doubt Harry's motives behind their friendship. It wouldn't be the first time his position has inspired distrust from others.
"I'm not an executioner." Nick pulls Harry's attention away from the retreating blutbad.
Harry raises an eyebrow at the grimm's defensive tone. "Neither am I. But you can't deny that sometimes, human laws aren't enough." He pauses until Nick deflates and nods. "If I had thought you were an executioner, I would have gone back to England a long time ago and we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"It's your job to stay here and keep tabs on me?" Nick changes the direction of the conversation after going quiet for a moment. He doesn't seem as upset as Harry would have expected but there's a degree of disappointment in his voice.
Harry bites the inside of his cheek. This is why he hates having to keep Sean's secrets, he doesn't want to lie to Nick. He shakes his head. Technically, the De Groot was satisfied with the state of things after Harry had reported how the siegbarste had been handled. Everything that had happened after that night had been for Harry's own reasons, no one else's. "The Council considers my job done in your case. I'm more of a private contractor for them, they call when they need someone with my talents. I'm a cop back in London..."
He looks towards Monroe, who's making his way back into the livingroom and recalls their conversation when Harry had admitted that his life had been rather dull before. "I had a lot of vacation built up, so I decided it was as good an opportunity as any to take some time to myself. So while I'm not technically working for them right now, I'm still duty bound to report this breach of the Codex. I'll be expected to deal with the situation."
"This is some serious old world shit." Monroe states incredulously once he's sitting down between Nick and Harry. Whatever had been bothering him, he seems to be over it now. Mostly.
"What do they actually expect you to do though?" Nick asks curiously.
"Same thing that's expected of you. Since the police are already on the trail, it complicates matters. I'll be expected to do whatever is needed to prevent more exposure to the kehrseite population and ensure that the geiers are properly punished. One way or another." Harry pauses, considering what he'd decided back on the porch. "I guess you wouldn't know this but those wesen laws I talked about; they were written with the help of grimms. The Council and grimms have worked together on several occasions. There wasn't always this animosity between wesens and grimms but that was a long time ago." The Royals sure did a good job of cocking that one up for everyone. "We could work together again, find the best outcome to stop the geiers." Harry fiddles with his shirt self consciously, he hates the thought that he may have already lost his new friends' trust.
"Isn't that what we're already doing though?" Monroe chirps in and elbows Harry's side.
"Monroe's right." Nick leans over a little to look at Harry. "This whole Council thing doesn't change that but maybe it can give us an advantage we didn't know we had before." The grimm offers a conspiratory smirk. "You two ok if I call Hank and put him on speaker?" He calls Hank for a conference once he gets nods from Harry and Monroe.
They spend the next half hour coming up with a plan of action.
Feb.3 late evening
Harry unfolds himself out of Monroe's small VW bug with a pained groan. "Next time, I think I'll just follow on my bike…" He gripes, ignoring Nick's chuckle.
They gather a few feet away from the spice shop. Monroe looks so nervous, Harry isn't sure this is a good idea but encourages the blutbad anyway. "Just ask for the gallenblase, pay, and get out. Don't make idle chit chat."
Nick nods his head, agreeing with Harry. "We'll be right here." The grimms adds while patting Monroe's arm reassuringly.
They watch Monroe straighten his posture before walking into the shop.
"So what do we do if this guy isn't actually dealing?" Nick starts after a minute or so of silence.
Harry props himself up against the red brick wall. "You and Hank keep working like cops on a regular case." Nick chuffs and it makes him grin. "You know what I mean. Anyway, now that I know there's our sorts of drugs involved; I'll start with the users and work my way up to find the geiers. First ones to find the bastards lets the others know and we move in based on who's got the most jurisdiction."
Nick comes to lean next to Harry. "I really wish we could just do this the cop way, you know." The grimm looks up to the sky in thought.
Harry glances over, humming his agreement while admiring Nick's jaw line. He understands what the man means, it would be so much easier if they could all follow the same sets of rules. Instead they have to work around a bunch of rules that can often be at odds. "If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of doing this, it's that it's simpler to take things one step at time."
"Is that what you're doing here in Portland still, taking it one step at a time?" Nick turns to look up at Harry with some underlying tension in his shoulders.
"I'm here because I want to be here. I could do my job from anywhere in the world but I wasn't happy in London… My boss wants me behind a desk most of the time or trainning greenies. It just isn't what I saw my life being, you know." Harry takes a deep breath, not sure he should be getting into all this right now.
Nick nods in understanding. "I do actually." He gives Harry a comisorating smile.
The doorbell from the spice shop jingles as Monroe steps out. He speed walks towards Nick and Harry like he's about to get struck down from above any minute.
Harry tries not to laugh at how ridiculously suspicious his friend is being. "Think we can cross him off the undercover list too." He whispers to the grimm just before Monroe reaches them.
Nick almost laughs but manages to keep a straight face when Monroe hands him a brown paper bag like it's about to explode. "Thanks Monroe."
"You're not gonna say that when you hear the price." The blutbad steps in closer, he seems more relaxed now that he's not actively committing a crime. "300 bucks." The older man deadpans.
Harry isn't surprised, in fact, it's a rather good price compared to what's found in Europe. He keeps that little fact to himself of course.
Nick though, is clearly shocked. He looks into the bag with a suspicious frown. "I can't believe I have to hand this into the lab. How the hell do I explain something like this?"
"I'm not testing that stuff out if that's what you're getting at." Monroe warns then crosses his arms. "Besides, how else are you supposed to know whether you didn't just pay 300 dollars for oregano?"
Harry shakes his head and reaches for his wallet. "I've got this, I'll just claim it as an expense with the council." He hands Monroe the cash after adding the contents. "Here's 200, I'll bring you the rest tomorrow."
"No it's fine. Here." Nick hands the last 100 dollars over to Monroe. "We get a budget for this sort of thing… I really should find a way to put you down as a consultant or something." The grimm clears his throat, embarrassed by the admission.
Monroe stands back a bit, awkwardly looking down at the money in his hand. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it." He smiles as he puts the cash in his wallet then starts walking back to his little yellow car. "So how long until you find out if this stuff is the real deal?"
"If I'm lucky, tomorrow afternoon. Maybe." Nick grimaces as he follows Monroe.
"I can get it checked out, if you don't need it for police evidence that is." Harry offers after a lot of consideration. Now that they know he works for a large secret organization, it's not so far fetched that he would have access to better resources.
"You're not going to use it, are you?" Nick asks with clear disgust.
Harry shakes his head vigorously before getting into the front passenger side. No way he's folding himself in the back seat again. "No, of course not! I just have faster ways of finding out." He cranks the seat back as far as it'll go. Technically, he's going to use a spell from his NEWTS; used to verify potion ingredients. It would take him less than a minute, he couldn't say that of course. "I could have the results for you in the morning."
"Really?" Nick asks, surprised and hopeful.
"Yes, really. I'll call you with the results first thing, promise." Harry looks back to grin at Nick. When he turns back around, Monroe is giving him a bit of side eye with a raised eyebrow. He subtly waves the blutbad's concern off, everything will work out. His life has always had a strange way of doing just that.
Feb.3 late night
Harry parks his bike in one of the many guest stalls and takes a few moments to centre himself. He checks his satchel, again, and glares at the jar of powdered human gallbladder that rests inside. Looking up at the tall building, Harry wonders what his uncle will say about this geier business.
He waves to the security guard on his way through the lobby. The man knows who Harry is and waves back without much of a second glance. The lift ride to the penthouse is short but it feels much too long for Harry tonight.
When he finally knocks on his uncle's door, he doesn't have to wait long for it to open. The man is already expecting him.
"Harry." Sean greets warmly and invites him in. "You said it was urgent?" The older man walks through the upscale flat to the luxurious kitchen. He waves to the mess of pots and pans, an empty plate sits by the sink. "Don't mind the mess, it's been a long day. But I imagine it's why you're here." Sean begins loading the dishwasher after he motions for Harry to grab one of the bar stools lining the counter in front him.
"You could say that." Harry digs around his satchel once he's sat down. He brings out the little glass jar and slides it across the counter to his uncle. "It's gallenblase." His face is set in stone as he studies Sean's reaction.
There's an uptick in the older zauberbiest breath when he reaches for the jar. Harry is relieved to see fury in the man's eyes. "You're sure?"
Harry nods firmly. "I wouldn't have brought this to you if I wasn't. Geiers, Nick and I aren't sure how their operation works yet but we've got some good leads."
Sean cocks an eyebrow towards Harry. "You and Nick?"
"It's his case, and you're canton but I'm also a representative of the Council. So yeah. Nick and I are working this geier case together." Harry bites his lip, he'd let his tongue get ahead of him.
Sean's eyebrows nearly disappear in his hairline. "You told him you work for the Council!"
Feb.4 late morning
Harry is trying to enjoy his quiet brunch, he really is but he simply can't bring himself to be in the moment. He's too nervous, anxious about what Nick and Hank could be finding out on their own.
Nick and he had texted briefly earlier this morning to exchange information. Harry had confirmed that the stuff from the spice shop had indeed come from a person. Nick had asked him to wait until noon before going to interrogate Calvert, hoping the police would have more evidence by then.
The rest of the morning was spent trying, and failing, to relax. Harry had been up late catching his uncle up on the situation. Sean had thankfully been more upset about the geiers than he was about Harry revealing more truths to his detectives. It had taken Harry every ounce of patience he'd had not to let the whole thing descend into another argument.
He smiles at himself, in the end, Sean always lets him have his way.
Harry's phone rings just as he finishes his third cup of tea. He greets the grimm quickly.
"Hey, I've got some leads but nothing on the phone yet." Nick starts telling Harry what he and Hank have been able to find out so far. Some of the blood in the geier van matches the homeless boy found in the river. None of the organs match anyone in the system and the only thing they had in common was their apparent good health. The grimm and his partner suspect the geiers are using healthy people from the homeless community but they have no other links to prove it yet. "Hank is running a statewide search for missing street kids. Want to meet me at the spice shop?" Nick offers eagerly.
Harry jumps up, he's already dressed and ready to go… has been since he woke up. "I'll meet you there."
Nick gets to the spice shop a few minutes before Harry. The tall wesen's motorcycle is becoming a familiar sight and he can easily spot it coming down the street. He walks down the sidewalk to meet Harry just as he steps onto the curb. He looks up and shakes the man's hand. "Thanks for backing me up on this."
Harry's calloused hand is warm against his own. "Anything you need." Green eyes crinkle behind stylish round frames. "How do you want to do this?"
Nick's stomach flips inappropriately. "I umm. Well, you said he'd recognise you but doesn't know who you work for right?"
Harry nods, scratching his beard. "He suspects, I think. I'm not sure who he'll be more scared of though. A grimm who's also a cop or a zauberbiest representing the Council." The taller man shrugs his shoulders. "Let's just say we'll be lucky if he doesn't shit his keks right there." Harry chortles darkly.
Nick presses his lips together, he's not used to hearing Harry sound so… British. "I'll go in first, catch him off guard. Give me a few minutes before coming in. He can choose who he's more scared of pissing off." Nick says just before reaching the door to the spice shop. He concentrates on his job, on the fact that there are people literally being harvested alive somewhere. He can't be a cop right now, he needs to be a grimm.
He sees Harry give him a nod of encouragement from the corner of his eye just as he opens the door. The bell jingles.
Nick spots the wesen man behind the counter, he gives him a friendly smile. "How are ya? I am here for the…" He leans over the counter to whisper. "Catch of the day."
The short man promptly transforms into what Harry and Monroe have told him is a Fuchsbau, a fox wesen. Since he's prepared he doesn't startle and stares the other man dead in the eyes. "Fuchsbau, right?" His grin is no longer friendly and shows too many teeth.
"Oh, my God!" The older man's woge vanishes, he looks terrified as he pushes himself away from the counter.
Nick pulls back on some of his anger. "Let's talk about the Gallenblase."
Fred Calvert cowers away until he backs into the bookshelves. "Don't kill me."
Nick prowls towards Calvert slowly. He fiddles with some of the bottles on the shelves, pretending to know what the labels mean. "Who do you get your Gallenblase from?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." The fuchsbau insists in a panic.
The bell rings again, Nick checks over his shoulder to see Harry closing the door. The tall man locks it and flips the sign to closed. "Yes you do Freddy." Harry's accented voice sounds dead of all emotions. It sends an odd shiver down Nick's back.
" ?" Calvert asks in confusion. "What?"
"I'm surprised at you Freddy, really. What would De Groot say if he knew what you were doing?" Harry walks at a leisurely pace until he's standing just behind Nick.
Nick sees a new level of fear take over the shop owners face. The fuchsbau crumples to the floor near tears. "Please don't kill me! I didn't have a choice, the geiers would have just killed me and found someone else."
"You're selling human organs!" Nick growls out unsympathetic to the man's pleas.
"I don't kill them myself." Freddy tries to reason.
"That doesn't make you innocent! You're profiting off of kerhseite suffering! Children are being butchered alive so you can make a few extra coins!" When Harry steps in front of Nick, he has to hold onto his shock at his first glimpse of the other's woge.
Harry's woge is uncomfortably similar to Adalinds; from the silver hair to the walking corpse look. The detail that stands out though is that instead of dark empty pits, Harry's scleras are glowing like red embers set in an black void.
The zauberbiest pulls the man off the floor then hoists the other wesen into the air like he weighs nothing. "You're gonna tell the grimm everything you know. Or the council will find out how you're soiling your father's legacy and I will end you myself!" Harry's voice is oddly gravely and full of righteous fury.
Calvert whimpers some more before nodding his head. When Harry lets him down they give the wesen a few minutes to wipe the snot off his face. "I don't know their names or where they are. One of them makes a delivery once a week. I text him when I need something. That's it, I swear!" The fuchsbau blubbers and hiccups.
Nick grabs a pad of paper from his pocket and hands it over. "Write down the number. Same guy makes the delivery every week?"
Calvert writes the number down with a trembling hand. "He's the only one I ever see."
Nick pulls the phony driver's license to show Freddy the picture. "This the guy?" He gets a nod from the man and gets an idea he's not proud of but goes for it anyway. "When do you see him next?"
Calvert hesitates for a moment but quickly starts talking when he looks over to Harry. "I was supposed to get a new shipment yesterday, but he never showed."
"Well, that's 'cause he's dead." Nick deadpans as he slips the number into his pocket.
What little colour still left in Calvert's face drains out. "Oh, God. You killed him!"
Nick keeps his face stern, a ghost of a malicious grin pulling at the corner of his lips. "And you thought you had to worry about the big guy uh? Show me the rest of your supply. You no longer sell human organs."
They leave the shop once they're sure all of Calvert's human products are completely destroyed. Nick smiles tightly, taking a breath of clean air. "That was something." He's not sure exactly what he's referring to.
Harry clears his throat and when Nick looks back, the man looks embarrassed. "I'm sorry about losing my temper."
Nick shakes his head. "No need, I think you did pretty good in there. I wasn't exactly calm and collected either." He lets out a self deprecating chuckle.
Harry smiles down towards Nick with a grateful nod. "What now then?"
"I'll run the number, see where it leads. There's some street kids I think I should interview again." Nick walks Harry to his motorcycle. "I'll let you know what I find out."
Harry steps off the curb, helmet in hand. "I'll stick around, keep an eye on Calvert in case he's got more balls than brains and tries to warn someone you're onto them."
Nick laughs. "That's a good idea, I hadn't considered that. Be careful alright."
"Same goes for you." Harry pats his arm before slipping on his helmet. He starts the bike and speeds off with a wave.
Nick shakes his head, he'd have to talk to Harry about obeying the speed limits.
Feb. 4 late evening.
Harry is looking through the rent ads with a perpetual frown on his face. His mind is made up, he wants to stay in Portland. He just hasn't shared that decision with anyone else yet. The way he sees it though, if he finds a place first then it'll be solid proof that he can't get talked out of it.
He scrolls past another loft and sighs. He was hoping to find something like Monroe's house. Something small, comfortable, and close to nature. He's tired of living in sterile flats, crowded by everyone else's smells and noises.
Harry's phone vibrates in his hand, the caller id pops up showing that it's Nick. "Hey!"
"Hey Harry. I think I have something but I don't want to wait until tomorrow to check it out." Nick sounds out of breath, there's noise in the background that Harry can't really make out.
"Will it just be you and me?" Harry asks while gathering his things.
"You think we should bring in Hank and Monroe?" Nick's tone says he isn't very keen on the idea. "I just want to do some recon."
"Really? Because in case you didn't notice, it's pissing outside." Harry looks out of his window to watch the rain fall heavily. Not exactly prime conditions for recon.
There's a deep sigh from Nick. "I know, I know. But I can't take the chance of not checking it out." There's a pause before the grimm continues. "I talked to those street kids tonight and they pretty much confirmed our suspicions. Someone is going around in a white van offering these kids jobs and they're never heard from again." He explains quickly. "I got an address for the phone number we got from Calvert. It's out in the middle of nowhere, seems like a pretty good place for a bunch of geiers to set up shop."
Harry straightens in his chair. That certainly changes things. "Alright, but we need to at least tell them what we're about to do. Where are we going?" Harry asks with a fond sigh. It's probably best if there's less people around for this sort of job anyway but it would be stupid not to alert their friends should something go pair shaped.
"I'll text you the address. Thanks Harry." Nick hangs up quickly, obviously in a hurry to get going.
Harry stops by his room before leaving, he hesitates by the night stand where his wand sits. He groans, frustrated. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He grabs his wand and digs out his arm brace. Once his wand is secured, he makes sure he has some spare ammo then quickly sticks a small caliber pistol to his ankle, just in case.
21343 Murtaugh road, is more of a long service road that leads deep into the forest. Harry and Nick had left their vehicles a little further down the main road to avoid notice. The rain had thankfully stopped but everything was still cold and wet.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait until sunrise at least? That way you could actually see something. They'll see us if we use torches." Harry breath puffs out in the cold. He stops Nick before they walk off the main path. While the sky is mostly clear, there's still enough cloud cover to block the moon's rays. He doesn't feel all that confident about wondering in a dark forest possibly full of geiers.
"Actually I can see really well in the dark. As long as the trees aren't too thick anyway. Should be good enough to find out if there's anything here worth pursuing." Nick moves off the path and begins the hike through the underbrush. "You coming?" He turns back to Harry who's still standing at the edge of the road.
Harry nods himself out of stupor, this must be what Hermione and Ron feel like whenever he goes marching off into danger. "At least let me take the lead, I can guarantee you that my night vision is better than yours." When he passes Nick, he lays his hand on the man's arm pretending to steady himself. What he really does however is place a very minor concealment charm on the grimm. Anything more would be noticed by Nick. For now their footfalls would go unheard and their scents wouldn't be carried out into the wind.
Nick tuts at him once Harry joins him on the embankment. "Because no one will notice a pair of red glowing circles hovering well over 6 foot above the ground?" The grimm quips sarcastically.
Harry laughed quietly, he is glad that Nick is comfortable enough with him to make that sort of joke. "That's besides the point. But you're right, let's just be careful." He heads off into the forest, staying parallel to the service road.
The walk is shorter than Harry had expected, he stops a few feet away from the thinning tree line. A small clearing lies ahead with a rundown RV sitting in the middle of it. He feels Nick stop next to him. "I'm going to woge real quick, just to get a better scan." Harry gives the grimm a heads up but doesn't look to see his reaction.
With the woge comes the familiar boost of energy. He can hear two heartbeats in the RV, the tv is on. He looks around the area a little longer, making sure he doesn't see anything else. There's a large tarp sticking out of the side that makes it difficult to see more without getting closer. "There's only two of them in there, rest of the area is clear." Harry takes a deep breath when he feels the wind change and regrets it instantly. His woge retracks while he gags.
"Woah!" Nick startles but has enough sense to whisper. "What just happened?" The grimm looks around them frantically while trying to tend to Harry.
"Just. urg." Harry can't help it, the smell is stuck in his nose and mouth now, like walking through a cheap perfume aisle but so much worse. "Gimme a mo. urg." He spits out, trying in vain to wash the smell out of his mouth. He's glad they didn't bring Monroe; the smell of human viscera is pungent now that they're down wind from it. "I don't think they do the harvesting here, but judging by the smell… This is more likely a processing centre."
"You're sure?" Nick asks just as Harry gags again and gets a glare. "Right. Never mind. What should we do?" The grimm asks, hesitant.
Harry takes a few steps back, putting more distance between them in the clearing. "Well, we could call in a tip, get some cops on the scene to find whatever is behind that RV. That would give you guys just cause to fully search the area."
"That'll take until tomorrow at least though." Nick slumps against a tree. "Plan B?"
Harry wonders if Nick is truly ready for his answer. "If we go with plan B, you have to accept that this is one those judge, jury, executioner moments. I can do it alone if you don't think you can. I'll get the information we need and get rid of all the evidence."
Nick looks up at Harry with disbelief. "I'm not letting you go in there alone." The grimm says firmly. "And we need to know where they're taking those kids." Nick's mouth is pressed into a thin line. "How do you plan on getting the information? Because if you're thinking torture, I draw the line there."
"I can see why you assume that but torture wont be nescerariy, I have a line too Nick." Harry gives the man a not so impressed eyebrow raise. He's about to lie again though and while it's only a small stretch of the truth, it's really bothering him that he has to in the first place. He'll use magic to get the information they need. "It's a bit of a family secret though, can I trust you to keep it to yourself?"
Nick nods his head right away. "I promise." It's not a lie.
Harry looks back to the RV to make sure their presence is still unnoticed. "So first off, I'm only doing this because there are lives at risk. I can read minds. To a degree. I can also tell if someone is lying to me."
Nick stares at him for a moment, mouth agape. He frowns. "That wasn't in the books."
Harry shakes his head. "Glad you're taking it so well."
Nick shrugs. "Honestly, with everything that's been happening, it's not really that mind blowing. How well does it work?" He turns back towards the RV.
"Can't do it from here. I'm afraid we'll have to get our hands dirty." Harry half grins. Nick keeps surprising him.
The next few minutes go by surprisingly fast. Nick knocks on the RV door with a stern Portland PD, while Harry hides just out of sight already woged. There's the sound of rushing feet inside and rather then opening the door, one of the geiers breaks the window above Harry's head.
The geier doesn't have time to get a shot off as Harry pulls him out of the window and throws him across the clearing. The wesen smashes against the trunk of a large pine with a sickening crunch and slumps to the ground.
Harry turns in time to see Nick rush into the RV. "Drop your weapon!"
"Grimm!" There's a guttural cry from inside and Harry rushes in just as a shot rings out.
"Nick!" He yells out, thinking the worst. He's relieved to find Nick unharmed. The grimm is breathing heavily, gun drawn on the second geier. He spies the wesen's bleeding shoulder. "Nice shot."
"What about the other guy?" Nick asks, never taking his eyes from the monster on the floor.
"Had a bit of a hard landing, doubt he'll be up and about anytime soon." Harry crouches down next to the geier and woges. He subtly casts a wandless immobilizing charm.
The creature startles, uttering a panicked. "What the fuck!" Before becoming unable to move.
Harry grabs the geiers head between his hands, forcing eye contact between them before performing legilimens. The world around him fades as he begins combing through this terrible creature's memories. He's not sure how long it takes and he sees a lot of things he knows he'll never be able to forget. It's all worth it when he finally gets to what he needs.
When Harry finally finishes the spell, he notices his hands are trembling. He looks into the geier eyes with resolution. "On behalf of the Wesen Council, I find you guilty of breaking the Gesetzbuch Ehrenkodex and carry out your sentence on behalf of those who have suffered at your hands." He speaks the words solemnly before snapping the wesen's neck.
The silence sits heavily in the RV for a few moments. Harry doesn't want to turn around and face Nick, afraid of what the man might say. A hand gently covers his shoulder, pulling him up.
"You ok?" Nick asks quietly. There's no fear or judgment in his voice so Harry takes a chance and turns to face him. He's never had to kill like this in front of a friend. It doesn't sit well with him.
All Harry can do is nod silently as he pulls out a pad of paper and walks out of the RV. Nick follows without saying anything else. "If we go through that way we'll find their drying room… Just take my word for it, we don't need to go in there. Here's the address where they take their victims." He hands it over to Nick. "First we have to deal with this site." He stops at the feet of the geier he threw into a tree, the man was dead.
Nick clears his throat. "I guess it'd be hard to explain this…"
Harry shakes his head. "We don't have to explain anything. Anonymous tip of shots fired and we move on to the next site. By the time the cops catch up, all they'll have to do is take the credit."
"Really?" Nick stares at him, obviously taking exception to his last statement.
Well, Harry's certainly put his foot in it. He smiles apologetically. "It's not what I meant, it's just. Well." Nick crosses his arms expectantly. "Bollocks. I'm sorry."
The grimm sighs with a smile. "Do you have any other ideas?"
Harry grimaces. "We could torch the place?"
"Yeah, no." Nick deadpans. "I guess anonymous tip it is." He fishes out his phone then pauses. "Maybe you should make the call."
"I probably should." Harry agrees then dials 911. He pitches his voice and adds his New York accent to tell his story. He'd stopped on the side of the road to shake his legs out he heard yelling then gun fire. He hangs up once he's done. "We better get going then."
"Guess so." Nick heads back towards the main road at a quick pace.
Harry follows behind quietly, giving the man some space to sort things out.
They arrive at 's house well past midnight. Harry had gone over everything that he'd dug out of the geier's head over a conference call with Nick, Monroe, and Hank. The free clinic gives the geiers unlimited access to potential victims. People trust them because they're doctors and it provides the geiers with a near immunity from the police. This particular operation doesn't stay in one place for too long, always moving to keep from getting too much attention. They'd gotten sloppy of late it seems, overconfident.
Harry cants his head at the sound of a car approaching. He's currently making his way around the property to flank the geiers. -Hank's here He texts Nick who's waiting just before the large house's driveway. The property is deep in the woods as well but instead of being a crack shack on the side of the road, it's practically a mansion with well manicured lawns that span into lush trees.
Nick and Hank will be walking right up to the front door, make apologies for the late hour but insist that they have urgent police business to discuss with the good doctor. Harry's role is simple, scout the area for anything outwardly suspicious to give the pair of detectives some probable cause.
He's about to go around the house when he spots them making their way onto the porch. He needs to move faster.
The wind shifts in his favour and Harry woges, there's smoke in the air. He follows the scent trail around some large bushes that had been obstructing his view. The air pushes itself out of his lungs. He reaches for his phone, the rush of adrenaline makes his fingers shake for a moment before muscle memory kicks in. -they're burning the bodies in the back
Harry stops thinking.
He's in full auror mode when he barrels silently across the grass towards the fiery pit with his wand drawn rather than his gun. The pair of geiers disposing of naked human bodies don't see him coming either. He fires the first spell, a jet a crimson red hitting one geier in the chest and throws him several feet into a wall. A telekinetic push is all it takes for the other to fall into the pit of fire with a screech.
Chaos erupts from inside a small building attached to the back of the house. Another geier comes running out and charges him. Harry arks his wand, this time the light from his wand is a sickly yellow. The geier folds over holding his stomach and vomits, pustules sprout all over his body.
Harry can hear Hank and Nick shouting from somewhere inside followed by several shots. He runs towards the nearest entrance and stumbles into a makeshift operating room. He scans the space for anymore geiers, thankfully he's only surrounded by sleeping humans.
Nick appears at the other end of the room, he's breathing heavily as he scans the room with his gun. "Harry?"
"Coast is clear." He breathes a little more easily. "Hank ok?"
Nick nods and walks down the ramp staring at the lines of beds. "All these people." He whispers with a mix of horror and relief, he scans Harry and frowns. "What's that?" The grimm points to the piece of polished wood in Harry's hand.
Harry looks down at his hand, this is why he should have left his wand home. "Fuck."
Author's Notes:
A big thank you to all the favs, follows, and reviews! Here's another large chapter for ya'll :)
We're moving further away from canon now and Harry is crap at keeping secrets from Nick. See ya'll next time!
*A quick note to a reviewer who mentioned that Sean is a member of Black Claw. First, I can't respond to guest reviews directly, sorry. Second, ignoring the fact that this is AU all around, Sean doesn't join Black Claw until season 6 of Grimm. He did so with the main motivation of regaining his daughter, Diana and also saw it as joining the winning side. That's not gonna happen in this story, for many reasons. Hope that helps :)
