A Grimm Comes to Town

by wittyretort77

An older, more experienced and more deadly Grimm comes to Portland. This Grimm doesn't share Nick Burkhardt's moral compass. Nick has to find a way to stop him from hurting more Wesen, all while dealing with the aftermath of the spellwork Adalind had done in year's past leaving him all but incapacitated. This story takes place after the series finale.

2. A Grimm Comes to Town Part 2

Chapter Five

When the four of them arrived back at the home of Monroe and Rosalee, they did their best to approach the house quietly as it was quite likely all the infants may be asleep. They were all in such happy moods however that there were many hushed giggles and whispering among them. A couple times Monroe, who would later admit he had too much to drink, attempted to shush the other three, "Shhhhh, shhhhhh."

Rosalee was the first to sneak through the front door. They all found Diana asleep on the couch and Trubel was asleep in a chair in an awkward position. Rosalee did her best to tiptoe to Trubel. She knew that the last thing you want to do is startle a sleeping Grimm, but it had to be done. She attempted to whisper, "Trubel" and nudged at her leg a few times. Groggily, Trubel woke up and after a few moments her vision cleared and she saw Rosalee standing a couple feet away in what Trubel assumed Rosalee thought was a safe distance. But when she turned her head she saw Nick, Adalind and Monroe standing in the open front door waiving at her to come outside.

Rosalee whispered, "Come outside, we have big news."

It took Trubel a few moments to locate and put on her boots but she quietly stepped outside. "What's going on?" As they stood in the porch light she couldn't decide which one of them to look at and it was clear they didn't know which one of them was supposed to provide the 'big news.'

Monroe spread his arms out and whispered in a shout, "Well, Nick, you gonna tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

Rather than say anything, Nick gently grabbed Adalind's hand and raised it so that Trubel could see the ring on her finger. Nick wiggled his eyebrows and motioned his head at the ring.

Trubel rubbed at her eyes and took another look, "No way." Then, in a whispered shout, she repeated herself, "No way!" She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around the shoulders of both Nick and Adalind, hugging them both. "Congratulations, guys. Oh my god, this is amazing."

She released them and backed away to say ironically, "So, I guess the party went well."

Monroe, who wasn't necessarily drunk, but certainly couldn't pass a sobriety test, whispered back to her, "Oh, you have no idea. After these two got engaged it wasn't long at all before it got, well, I don't want to say crazy, but something close to it. Let me put it this way, it was certainly historical. I saw two Coyotls, an Indole Gentile, like, three Reinigens, a Hexenbiest," Monroe pointed at Adalind, "and a Grimm," Monroe pointed at Nick, "All dancing together at one point. I've never seen anything like it before. Even if Nick hadn't been there, it would have still been a really unique night. Obviously, there were several Eisbibers there, a drang-zorn and after that I kinda lost track."

Rosalee added, "I saw a Steinadler at one point."

Monroe smiled and continued, "But they were all in the room with Nick and laughing and having a good time and celebrating an engagement between a Hexenbiest and a Grimm." His smile faded a little, "I'm sorry you couldn't have been there Trubel."

Nick chimed in, "Well, there's always the wedding, right? I'm sure we'll have a unique crowd. Maybe not as diverse as Bud's party. But pretty good."

Adalind spoke up, "How were the kids? Did you have any problems?"

Trubel looked Nick dead in the eye and without looking away, as deadpan as she could manage, she said, "No, after I gave them all their root beer baby bottles they went right to sleep." But then she looked at Adalind and said, "Diana was a big help. She was able to feed the triplets all by herself while I fed Kelly. Of course, she's able to feed them by floating the bottles over their crib..." She checked the time. "It's been about ninety minutes since I last checked in on them, so if any of you would like to volunteer to do it, you're welcome to. Kelly is upstairs sleeping in the bassinet."

Nick took a step towards Trubel, "Would you mind staying the night here with Diana and Kelly? I'd kinda like to have some time with Adalind tonight. You know, to finish celebrating."

Trubel smiled at him, "You know I know what the means, right?" She punched his shoulder as her way of agreeing to look after the kids.

Adalind let her know they'd pick up the kids in the morning as it would be time for Diana to spend time with her father. "Oh, and I'd like to be the one to tell her that me and Nick are getting married, so everyone try to keep that to themselves until after I speak with her tomorrow, okay?"

Everyone nodded their understanding. Monroe, Rosalee and Trubel went back inside as quietly as they could. Nick and Adalind got back in the SUV and drove home to their loft/fortress.

When Monroe, Rosalee and Trubel got inside they went to the kitchen area and sought out the left over pizza and soda. They sat at the table for a minute in silence as they chewed their food and drank what was left of the root beer.

Rosalee looked at Trubel and said in a near exasperated sincerity, "Trubel, thank you so much for watching all the kids tonight. You have no idea how much Monroe and I needed this. If there's anything we can do for you, just let us know."

Trubel should her head, "No, you guys don't owe me anything. I mean, five kids... wow. But no, you guys and Nick have done so much for me, I can take one for the team and change a diaper or four."

Trubel's eyes shifted down towards the table but she wasn't looking at anything in particular as she spoke more to herself than to Rosalee or Monroe, "Can you believe they're getting married? I can't stop thinking about Juliette... and Eve." Juliette was Nick's previous live in girlfriend and was there when Nick took Trubel in and gave her a home. Trubel felt almost as indebted to Juliette as she felt to Nick. When Adalind had stripped Nick of his Grimm abilities, Juliette voluntarily took part in a spell to get them back. Nick's abilities returned within a day or so, but over time Juliette suffered the major, and the completely unexpected, side effect of being turned into a Hexenbiest. In the weeks after her transformation, her personality became more and more hostile towards Nick and his circle of friends. Attempting to kill Monroe and then later attempting to kill Nick. If Trubel hadn't been there to stop it, Nick would likely be dead now. But worst of all, Juliette had conspired with the royal family to lay a trap for Nick's mother so they could kidnap Diana. They beheaded his mother and left her head in a box for him to find when he got home.

After the chaos, and after Trubel had shot Juliette with poisoned darts that should have killed her, Juliette was somehow saved and put through mental reconditioning by the secret government agency, Hadrian's Wall, that Trubel had been working with. Juliette's mind was forced to become compartmentalized and she became a new person. Eve.

Eve remembered everything Juliette had done, but she behaved as though the heinous acts had been committed by someone else. Juliette. Referring to that personality in the past tense. Eve is still a powerful Hexenbiest, but no longer vindictive. One could say she had become almost robotic.

Trubel took a sip of her root beer and said, "You know, when I first met Juliette, I assumed she and Nick were married. I made things kind of awkward when I mentioned it. And before she became a Hexenbiest, I kind of assumed that one day the two of them would get married."

Rosalee nodded in understanding and replied, "I agree. If you had asked me back then, I would have predicted the two of them would have tied the knot for sure. But we shouldn't talk about this here. We may be accidentally overheard," she pointed in the direction of the living room and the couch that Diana was currently sleeping on.

Monroe looked at Trubel, "Hey, where have you been staying lately? Did you get an apartment in Portland?"

Trubel shook herself out of her haze and responded, "I fixed up the HQ for Hadrian's Wall. It's all mine now. HW still operates globally but on a much smaller scale. So, they gave me a small budget and basically handed the Portland HQ over to me to fix up and use how I want. It's not nearly what it used to be, but I was able to secure the entrance. It's not like I'm retired... It's like... it's more like I'm on standby for the foreseeable future."

Hadrian's Wall was originally tasked with stopping a Wesen uprising. An uprising led by an organization calling itself Black Claw. They wanted a world ruled by Wesen and would kill any Wesen who refused to join their cause when asked. Nick was able to put a stop to the uprising in the Portland region, but only after they had raided and trashed the Portland Hadrian's Wall Headquarters, killing everyone inside at the time.

Monroe wasn't sure where to start with what Trubel just said so he first asked, "Is Hadrian's Wall worried about another Black Claw uprising?"

"Nah, but I think it's more like they want to be prepared just in case that or something else happens. They shut down most of their facilities. They're keeping a handful open around the world. I honestly don't think they would have left this one to me if Nick hadn't been here. Portland has strategic value not just because it's on the coast but because Nick is one hell of a Grimm. They know I'm loyal to him, so they're loyal to me. If that makes sense."

Monroe nodded, "Yeah, I think it does actually. You're happy living in it though? Place is kinda big for just one person."

Trubel chuckled, "The hard part is keeping it clean. I've shut down most of the place, since there's only one room being slept in. Beyond that, I need the kitchen, bathroom and a way to power my laptop."

Monroe caught the tone in how Trubel mentioned the laptop and realized, "They didn't give you a big enough budget to replace that giant computer screen thing, did they?"

Trubel shook her head, but couldn't hide her grin as she said, "Can you believe they left me hanging like that? We could have had some really awesome movie nights down there."

Rosalee stood up and her body forced her to do a yawning stretch. When she got her bearings she said, "I'm heading to bed. It's been quite a night. In the morning you and Monroe can watch the kids while I cook everyone breakfast, okay? Trubel, you can have the couch, we're going to carry Diana upstairs and put her in the spare bedroom. And by 'we' I mean Monroe."

Monroe didn't comment, he stood up and did as he was instructed. Very carefully, he picked up Diana and made his way to the bedroom. Rosalee followed.

Trubel laid herself on the couch, but it took a while to fall asleep. She was happy for Nick, she truly was. But she also felt his life was far harder and more complex than he deserved it to be. More than that, she mourned the loss of Juliette. She was gone, but not really gone and it was all so confusing. To look at it in the right light though, Adalind was to blame for nearly all of it. And now Nick was marrying her. To look at Adalind now though, it seemed, in a way, that she had changed almost as much as Juliette. To be a better, more compassionate and loving person. Before she finally dozed off, she wondered if there were a correlation.

---

When she woke the following morning it was to the wonderful smell and the melodic sound of bacon sizzling. She had to resist the urge to run to the kitchen and steal bacon directly from the pan. Instead, she chose to remain calm and walk to the kitchen like she wasn't ravenous for the breakfast that Rosalee was cooking up. She checked the time and saw it was still pretty early in the morning and therefore wasn't surprised to not see Monroe in the kitchen. Trubel reasoned he was likely still asleep. Trying to keep her voice low as to not wake anyone upstairs she told Rosalee, "Good Morning." and without having to ask, Rosalee handed her a mug of coffee.

"Monroe is still asleep?" She asked between sips of coffee.

"Yeah, he had Felix sleeping on his chest. At least I think it was Felix, I didn't check." She began whipping some eggs in a bowl.

Trubel strolled back into the living room area just in time to hear a light rapping on the front door. When she went to answer it she found Adalind, "Hi Trubel. Just here to pick up the kids. They awake yet?"

Trubel opened the door wide enough for Adalind to step inside and replied, "I don't think so, if they are they haven't made a sound. Rosalee is in the kitchen making breakfast. You want Diana and Kelly to eat here or are you gonna take care of that somewhere else?"

Adalind sniffed the air, and smiled at Trubel "I think it would be cruel to take them away after they smell breakfast cooking."

As she took off her coat to hang it up she saw Diana coming down the stairs with Monroe not far behind her carrying one of the triplets.

Diana was wearing a long t-shirt that went all the way down to her ankles. Her eyes lit up when she saw Adalind and it was clear that she was about to say something, perhaps too loudly, and Adalind quickly put her finger to her lips to signal Diana to not be too loud. Diana got the message and when she reached the floor she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and said softly, "Hi, Mommy."

Adalind hugged Diana back and looked at Monroe, "The others are still asleep?"

Monroe, still looking like he could use more sleep himself, yawned and nodded his head.

Adalind looked back down at her daughter and made sure she made eye contact with her before telling her, "There's something important I need to talk to you about before all the babies are awake, okay?"

"Okay, mommy."

"Let's sit on the couch and talk." Adalind led Diana to sit and sat down herself. Diana pulled her legs up onto the couch and pulled the giant t-shirt down over both of her knees. She looked to her mother with warmth and smiled.

Adalind, who had been thinking about how this conversation would go the whole car ride over suddenly realized she had an inkling of how it felt to be Nick last night as he struggled through his proposal. "So, Nick and I had a long talk last night. The two important things that you need to know is that Nick told me that he loves both of us. You," She pointed at Diana, "and me," she pointed back at herself. "The other important thing is that Nick asked me to marry him and I said yes." She waited for some kind of reaction from Diana.

Diana had verbalized more than once that she wanted her mother and her father to be together. Both Adalind and her father, Sean, explained to her how love and marriage work as best they could for one as young Diana. Diana asked, "Is that why Nick was fussing so much in the mirror?"

Adalind smiled, she hadn't actually thought of that but agreed with her daughter, "Now that you mention it, yes, I think it was."

"You love Nick." Diana's words fell somewhere between a question and a statement of fact.

"Yes, I do. And he said he loves me and that he loves you." She didn't want it to sound like she was trying to replace Sean with Nick as a father, so she caressed her hand down Diana's hair and added, "There's no love quite like mommy and daddy love, but Nick still loves you, and that's very special."

"You don't love Daddy." Again, Diana's words managed to straddle the line between statement and question but there also wasn't any anger or resentment behind them which Adalind was very grateful for.

Adalind chose to be careful with her words, "I care about him because he's your daddy. But no, it's not love. Remember, I said you needed to know just those two important things. I said that, because nothing else is going to change much. You'll still be spending just as much time with your Daddy as before. I'll still be living with Nick and Kelly and you'll be staying with us just as much as you do now."

"Okay, mommy." She hugged her mother and when she pulled away she asked, "Can we eat now?"

Adalind was relieved that Diana had taken the news so well. After they got up from the couch, as soon as Diana's back was to her, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose and breathed out through her mouth to calm her nerves. Then she opened her eyes and followed Diana into the kitchen.

Monroe was rushing out of the kitchen holding his baby at arm's length, "This diaper needs changed so I assume all the others do too. I'll be back in a few minutes." He rushed his baby upstairs.

Trubel saw that Diana was sitting at the table and realized that she better start getting Kelly ready. So she excused herself and followed Monroe up the stairs.

Adalind leaned against the counter and Rosalee commented, "I saw you two talking on the couch. How did it go?"

"I think it went okay. Maybe I was more nervous than I should have been."

Rosalee, whose hands were very busy making vegan bacon, scrambled vegan eggs and french toast did her best to console her friend. "I think Diana is good at rolling with the punches." She looked over at Diana and asked, "Diana, how do you feel about Nick?"

Diana kept a mostly neutral face and replied, "I like him. He's nice to mommy."

Rosalee nodded, "I think that's a fair assessment." Rosalee gently hit Adalind on her shoulder with the back of her hand and in a mock demanding tone said, "Tell me about the proposal. I've been dying to hear the nitty-gritty."

Adalind shook her head, "If I'm being honest, it was a lot to take in. I was in such shock I don't really remember a lot of what Nick actually said. I never, ever," she looked Rosalee directly in the eyes and reiterated, "and I mean ever... expected Nick to propose."

Rosalee continued to pile up slices of french toast and asked, "But everything between you two has been good, right?"

"Yeah! It's just, you know, with everything..." She did a sweeping motion with both arms to suggest something large. Rosalee nodded her understanding and Adalind continued, "Don't get me wrong, I said yes emphatically. I would have said yes even if he asked by passing me a note like in grade school saying, 'Will you marry me? Check this box.' But when he said he loved Kelly, Diana and me, my heart melted." Jokingly she added, "And if you tell anyone I said that I'll deny it."

Adalind continued, "We always say the best day of our lives are when our kids are born and that's absolutely true. Nothing can top that." She glanced at Diana who was waiting patiently for her food. "But last night is going to be a close second to having my kids."

Rosalee put her hand briefly on Adalind's shoulder, "Monroe and I couldn't be happier for the two of you. Now, to try this breakfast." She began placing plates on the table, "I've never made vegan french toast before so I'm not sure how it will be. The vegan bacon though? It's actually really good."

Diana began eating and while she did, Monroe, Adalind, Trubel and Rosalee all combined forces to bring the remaining children downstairs to be fed from various bottles and breasts and, in the case of Kelly, some french toast cut up into tiny pieces after he'd finished his bottle.

When things calmed down and she was able to get a few bites of food for herself, she looked at her daughter, who had begun drawing with her crayons, and her son whose fingers were still sticky with syrup as he ate bites of vegan bacon. For the first time in a long time, Adalind was beginning to look forward to the future. Imagining to herself what her life could be like as Mrs. Adalind Burkhardt. Years ago, the thought of giving up her last name, Schade, for marriage would have been ridiculous to her. Marriage and Hexenbiests don't mix well and she had felt a connection to her last name. But over the years, she'd changed her mind about a lot of things and having had her last name said to her with sickly sweet venom by various members of the royal family had a lot to do with it.

It was odd how comfortable she felt now that she was wearing Nick's engagement ring on her finger. Calm, at ease, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders she didn't even know she had been carrying. Nervous tension had melted away and she felt content. Something she didn't think possible and, therefore, never wished to have, had fallen into her lap and she was going to grab it tight with both hands and see where life takes her.

Chapter 6

(Several months later)

Nick was driving his SUV, towing his new (very used) trailer onto a lot of land he'd purchased a few years back under an assumed name. The trailer itself was also purchased in a way that could never be connected back to him. His fiancé being a crafty lawyer, she was able to assist with the anonymity. The last trailer he'd had on this land, previously his deceased Aunt Marie's, had been set ablaze by Juliette when she was a vindictive Hexenbiest. She had destroyed a lot of the materials that had been passed down through multiple generations of his family. Primarily, the Grimm books. Several handwritten tomes outlining all the Wesen his Grimm ancestors had come across over several centuries in various languages. The tomes often contained the easiest ways to deal with some Wesen. Thankfully, not all of the tomes were destroyed in the fire, and, since then, Nick had acquired twenty more Grimm tomes from Monroe's Uncle Felix who had been murdered because he had been in possession of them.

Since the fire, Nick had been storing the books in Rosalee's Spice and Tea shop basement. He knew his friends would keep the tomes safe, but also knew having the Grimm books put them at risk. He'd been wanting to relocate them as soon as he could, but trailers weren't cheap and he had a wedding to pay for.

The land he owned was fairly remote and, to the outside observer, would just look like acres of forest. He chose not to place the new trailer near the old one, opting instead to delve a little deeper. Having the old one, burned out as it was, had the unintended and advantageous consequence of playing a decoy just in case anyone did in fact come looking for Nick's trailer.

As he was detaching the trailer from his SUV he heard the snapping of a branch being stepped on. He pivoted on his heels to find Trubel clumsily making her way through the trees.

"Trubel, what are you doing out here?"

She began untangling leaves and vines from her jacket, "Monroe told me you'd be up here and we need to talk."

"You couldn't have called?"

Trubel grimaced a bit and said, "Not about this, no. It's pretty bad."

Once Nick finished setting up the trailer, he told Trubel to get into his SUV and they'd talk on the way to Rosalee's spice shop, as he hadn't yet picked up his Grimm books.

As they made their way back onto main roads, Trubel began, "First, there's still a lot I don't know. You know that HW has me staying in the Portland area to be near you. They call on me once in a while to do stuff. But lately... Things are getting weird Nick."

"Weird how?"

"Apparently Eve is back with HW. I don't know how long she's been working for them. But they've had her on an assignment tracking someone. That much they were willing to tell me. I guess Eve lost track of this guy a couple months ago back in Minnesota."

Nick was surprised, "Eve lost track of someone? That alone is cause for concern if the guy is that good, or maybe just that lucky."

Trubel nodded, "Since then, they've had no idea where he was, then he popped up on their radar in Seattle a few weeks ago. That's when they tapped me to go look for him. I was closer than Eve was. But Nick, here's where it gets weird. HW knows I can handle myself, but they ordered me to not approach and simply confirm if the guy is or isn't in Seattle. To get some kind of confirmation. With so little to go on, it's no wonder I never saw him. We have no idea where he is and apparently this guy is super bad news. All they would give me is a photo of the guy and the location he was last seen. Well... supposedly seen anyway."

She looked out the window as they drove past what, she assumed, was farmland, "I have some contacts inside HW. You know, the kind that gossip? They didn't know anything about this guy either, other than he's leaving a trail of bodies everywhere he goes. HW has always been really 'need-to-know' but whatever this is has people spooked."

Later, when they arrived at the spice shop, after they'd stepped out of the SUV, Trubel showed Nick her cell phone so he could see the picture of the man she was supposed to be tracking. Nick asked, "And the last place he was seen was in Seattle? Any reason to believe he's coming to Portland?"

As they stepped through the door of the spice shop, she said, "I mean, I can't even confirm he was ever in Seattle."

Rosalee was behind the counter helping a customer. Nick tapped Trubel on her shoulder and, without saying anything, pointed to the customer whose back was to them, and then to his eyes and to Trubel's eyes. Nick knew that the vast majority of Rosalee's customers were Wesen and the last thing he wanted to do was cause alarm if a customer Woged when not just one, but two Grimms were in the shop. Trubel nodded and they both did their best to avoid eye contact with the man Rosalee was selling tea to.

Rosalee saw their interaction and did her best to hide a smile as she talked to her customer about how best to prepare the tea and that using sugar, while making it taste better, did make it less effective.

After the customer left, Trubel and Nick approached Rosalee. Nick smiled and said, "Hey Rosalee, I'm here to pick up all the Grimm stuff from the basement. But before I go down there, Trubel can you show her the pic you showed me?" Trubel held her phone up so Rosalee could see it. It was a picture of a man in his fifties, maybe even early sixties. Caucasian, he had black hair but it was heavily grayed on his temples and in his full beard, making it difficult to pinpoint his age.

Rosalee asked, "Should I know this guy?"

Nick replied, "We have no idea. Supposedly he's somewhere on the west coast and is extremely dangerous, but we don't know his name or anything about him. According to the people Trubel work for they think he was last in Seattle, but Trubel couldn't confirm it."

Rosalee said, "Text it to me and I'll ask Monroe and a few others just to be safe, but I've never seen him before. Any idea what he's done?"

Trubel texted the picture to her and replied, "The people above me are being really tight lipped about it, but I guess he's killed a lot of people."

Rosalee looked down at her phone and said, "So, I guess I should act with a bit of urgency on this then. I'll ask around."

Nick and Trubel worked together to gather all his Grimm possessions and load them into his SUV. As they were driving back to his trailer, he said, "Other than this guy, that may or may not be coming to Portland, how have you been?"

Trubel scratched at the back of her head. Instinctively she wanted to simply say, 'Fine,' but she knew Nick's question was more than a simple pleasantry. Nick was genuinely concerned for her welfare and had been since the day they had met. He wasn't grilling her like a suspect, he wanted to know how she is in life. After taking too long to answer, Nick was about to repeat the question, but Trubel cut him off, "Things are going pretty well. I mean, I have a steady paycheck."

Nick knew there was more to it and asked, "But?"

"But, I've been realizing lately that I can't keep living in the bunker forever. That's not really a life. At first, it sounded cool. Go to bed when I want, eat when I want, come and go as I want. I get the occasional order from time to time, but for the most part I can do whatever."

Nick came to realize what Trubel was getting at, "It's lonely."

"Yeah, I guess that's the best way to put it."

Nick glanced at Trubel before putting his attention back to the road, "You could get an apartment. Then maybe you could make some friends. Maybe even date."

Trubel snorted out a laugh, "Date? You really think..." She was about to say, 'anyone would date a Grimm' but remembered Juliette and Adalind.

Even though she didn't finish her sentence Nick had a notion of where she was going and said with confidence, "Yes, Trubel, I do. I would recommend it be someone who already knows a bit about our world. Rather than a 'Kehrseite.'"

Kehrseite was the word commonly used in the Wesen community for people who aren't Wesen and have no knowledge of it.

Nick continued, "However, I think even if you did meet someone who was fully aware of our world, having a date over to the bunker might kill the romance a bit."

Trubel shrugged her shoulders as if in defeat, "I guess you're right about that, but people like us, we can't just have a regular place. That loft you have is really secure. Places like that don't grow on trees."

Nick checked his mirrors, he had to always be on the lookout that he wasn't being followed when he made his trek to the trailer and if he suspected for even a moment he was being tailed he would begin taking random turns. "As a matter of fact, I'm currently in the market myself for a new place. You're right, the loft is fairly secure, but it's also impractical. Remember, when I bought it, Adalind and I weren't together, at least not romantically, and we thought Diana was with the Royals. But now that she's with us, Diana needs a real bedroom. Kelly needs a real bedroom. I've gone over the place a dozen times and there's simply no way to build more space. What if, if I do actually find a new place, you buy the loft?"

Trubel didn't hate the idea, but said she had to give it some thought.

Nick drove the SUV onto his land and pulled up next to his newly purchased trailer. He and Trubel unloaded all the boxes of weapons and tomes and placed them in the trailer haphazardly. They began separating and organizing, however, it was clear they were missing several components to make it work. Shelving and cabinets. The Trailer had some basic storage, but not the kind to store maces and axes and the many handwritten Grimm books. Trubel looked at Nick, "We're gonna need furniture too." She looked over at the bed and said, " I mean that'll be nice for when we have long nights here, but some chairs would be more practical." Trubel was pointing out that, often, when they needed to refer to the Grimm books, they could be there for lengthy amounts of time combing through all the tomes before they found what they needed, if they found it at all."

Nick looked around the trailer, taking mental measurements of the size as he made a mental list of the things he knew he'd need. At that moment, his cell phone rang, Nick answered, "Burkhardt." He listened and finished with, "I'll be there in twenty."

He looked at Trubel, "I have a body." He handed her a key to the trailer. "I've made copies for all of us. How are you getting out... wait, how did you get here in the first place?"

Trubel pointed in a general direction, "I had my motorcycle. I pulled it in and hid it behind some bushes."

Nick nodded, "Smart. I plan on camouflaging this place as soon as I can get more spare time. Make sure to lock up whenever you decide to leave."

Chapter 7

When Nick arrived at the crime scene, Hank was kind enough to have a cup of coffee waiting for him. Nick thanked him for the coffee and said, "What do we got?"

Hank, a black man, tall and broad. He could easily be mistaken for a linebacker. He said, "It looks like a robbery. Victim was stabbed and his wallet and phone were stolen. Wu is attempting to ID the vic through fingerprints."

It wasn't common for Nick to be called to a murder scene in the city. Normally, he found himself in out of the way places. But the body in this case was simply in an alleyway in downtown Portland. Surrounded by various restaurants and boutiques, Nick asked, "Any witnesses?"

Hank shook his head, "None that have come forward yet." He pointed to the crowd that had begun to form on the other side of the crime scene tape. "Just a bunch of lookie-loos so far as I can tell. But we have our people asking around about it."

Nick had a bad habit of not putting on his gloves, instead he'd hold them in his hand and push things around with the latex as needed. He crouched down next to the body and began examining it as best he could. The stab wound to the heart was difficult to miss, "Whoever did this wasn't messing around. It's directly to the heart. The medical examiner will have to confirm but it looks dead center to me."

Sergeant Wu stepped over to them, "So far I've been unable to get a name. His prints don't appear to be in the system."

Hank nodded, "Well, let's have our people go over the alley as best they can. See if they can find a murder weapon and look for any kind of surveillance."

At the word, 'surveillance' Nick began looking around himself for any obvious signs of security cameras in the area. But they were surrounded by dumpsters and garbage cans. Not exactly the kind of place to keep cameras focused on. Perhaps they could find something from the main streets.

Nick added, "Go ahead and have the body taken to the ME."

As he stood up, by happenstance, he glanced into the crowd that had gathered at the crime scene tape and saw what he thought was a familiar face. As the familiarity registered, he turned again back to the crowd. Was it his imagination or did he really see the man Trubel had warned him about only an hour ago? He began walking towards the crowd but it was a busy street in general. Cars and pedestrians were still going about their daily business. Through the crowd he thought he saw him once more crossing the busy intersection, but he still couldn't be sure. Nick began walking faster, trying to shorten the distance between them.

Hank began to call out, "Nick! Nick, did you see something?"

Nick stopped, he still couldn't be certain he'd seen anything at all. So he called back, "I don't know. I thought maybe..." But then he saw him. It was a reflection in the brown tinted glass of a bar. He was staring directly at Nick through the reflection while using the crowds of pedestrians and vehicles as cover. Clever, Nick could easily not have noticed. Nick yelled to Hank, "Call for backup, now!" and began sprinting to the bar, but the traffic was too much. Cars, buses, delivery trucks, all speeding past and Nick couldn't get a clear route. By the time he arrived, the nameless man was gone. Next to where Nick surmised he must have been standing was a garbage can. It was filled near to the top and he could see that between all the disposed of paper plates, bags and cups, he could make out what he thought was a wallet.

Hank caught up with Nick, followed by Wu. Drew Wu, short and slender and of Filipino descent. He'd been a sergeant since before Nick found out he was a Grimm. He had also been kept in the dark about Nick being a Grimm longer than anyone in Nick's inner circle. He used to be a Kehrseite, someone who wasn't Wesen, but after being attacked by a Blutbad with a rare Lycanthrope disease, Wu contracted a disorder that no one had ever seen before. Now, when he becomes threatened he morphs into a primal version of himself. Almost neanderthal like. Over time, he's managed to get some control over it. But, in extreme circumstances it can completely take over.

When Wu caught his breath he said, "Um, Nick, care to fill us in on what you saw? Should I be putting out an APB or something?"

Nick shook his head. "Cancel the call for backup." He saw that Hank was actually wearing his gloves and asked that he grab the wallet out of the trash.

Hank shook his head in disgust, "You know, you really need to start wearing yours so I don't always have to be the one reaching into garbage cans."

Hank retrieved the wallet easily and opened it to find that if there had been any money in it before, it was certainly gone now. But they were able to retrieve his ID. "Zachary Gray. He lives about twenty or so minutes from here. Wu, have someone go through the rest of the can, see if they can find his cell phone."

Nick was listening, but he was also looking around the area to see if he could spot the nameless man watching him again. He motioned for Hank and Wu to step closer. As he spoke softly to them, he continued to scan his surroundings, checking reflections and even rooftops. "The guy I saw, I don't have a name, I only have a face and I was told by Trubel that he's extremely dangerous. At first, I wasn't sure, but I saw his reflection on the glass," he pointed to the bar behind him, "and I got a pretty good look and I'm pretty sure it was him. He was watching me. Given that the wallet was in the trash can, we have to assume he took it and that he killed our vic. If the phone isn't in the garbage we have to assume that he's still in possession of it. Once we have a number we can try to track it.

Wu asked softly, "Is he Wesen?"

Nick shook his head quickly, barely perceptively, "I don't know. All I know is that he's allegedly killed a lot of people. We need to get to the vic's address now and see if someone can get us his cell number and try to track that phone. If someone finds the phone, text me."

---

Later, Hank and Nick pulled up to the house that was listed as Zachary Gray's home. Before walking up to the front door, they looked around the property and saw no obvious signs anyone was there. Nick rang the doorbell and they waited. A few moments later a young woman, very slender, white, taller than average with very long, straight, dark brown hair answered the door. Nick assumed she couldn't be any older than twenty. She asked, "Can I help you?"

Hank wore his detective badge on a chain around his neck, he held it up so she could see it more clearly and said, "I'm Detective Griffin, this is Detective Burkhardt. We need to ask you a few questions." He didn't give her a chance to respond before asking, "Do you know Zachary Gray?"

"Yes, why? Is he in trouble?"

Nick cut-in, "Could you tell us your name and how you know him?"

"I'm Sam... sorry... Samantha... Gray. He's my brother."

Hank continued, "I'm sorry, Sam, Zachary was killed today in what looks like a mugging downtown."

There were many aspects of being a detective that were unpleasant, but telling someone a loved one had been murdered is one of the worst responsibilities. Nick and Hank couldn't afford to get bogged down into the emotional drama of it though. It can be draining psychologically, but there was also a time factor to consider. The sooner they got answers to their questions, the sooner they might be able to catch a killer.

They allowed a moment to pass for the news to sink in as Samantha realized they were being serious. She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes began to fill with tears. Then, she Woged.

Nick recognized her as a Scharfblicke. An owl-like Wesen. The feathers that appeared on her face blended seamlessly into the hair on her head. Nick waited for the inevitable, for her to see that he was a Grimm. He didn't take any pleasure from it, but it did sometimes have the advantage of moving a conversation along.

Once she saw that Nick was a Grimm, Sam stopped crying and took a step a back, her eyes wide with fear, she glanced at Hank and it was clear to Nick that she was trying to decide what to do. So, Nick took the initiative. He caught the door before it closed and said, "Samantha, please remain calm. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a Grimm, but I'm also a cop and I want to catch whoever killed your brother."

Sam glanced at Hank again. Nick saw that she was struggling with deciding what she could and couldn't say in front of Hank. Nick took a step forward and said, "It's okay. Hank is a... Hank is a... Hank, I'm drawing a blank here. What's the phrase for you knowing what you know?"

Hank, who couldn't see what Nick was seeing and had been caught up in what was unfolding before him, had to think for a moment himself, then quickly said, "Kehrseite-Schlich-Kennen" The term Wesen use for non-Wesen who know about Wesen.

Sam's face returned to its typical non-owl like appearance, though she continued to look fearful.

Nick looked around behind him at the street. At the moment, there weren't any passing cars, but he said, "I'm feeling a little exposed out here. Can we come inside and talk?"

Sam opened the door a bit wider, as she walked stiffly further into the house, it was clear to both Hank and Nick that she was struggling with a fight-or-flight response. Nick assumed her adrenaline must be pumping pretty hard, he could see her hands shaking. He did his best to continue speaking in a calm manner and to not make any movements that would frighten her.

Nick looked at Hank and without saying a word, Hank understood that this was going to be a Wesen and Grimm interaction, so Nick was going to have to take lead. Nick suggested they all sit down. She pointed them to her couch and asked if she could get them anything, but Nick was quick to decline. Primarliy because he could see in her eyes that she was still frightened and didn't want her to run off while pretending to get a glass of water. She sat down in a chair opposite the couch.

Her voice shook as she spoke, "What can I do to help?"

Normally, Nick would try to power through and ask whatever questions he had, but in this case, Nick could see that Sam was more frightened than just about any Wesen he'd ever encountered, simply because he's a Grimm. He was impressed that she was at least attempting to remain calm, though it was clear in her voice, her shaking leg and her eyes, that, inside, she was anything but calm. Instead of asking questions, he chose to first calm her down as best he could.

"Samantha," He said, "I am so sorry to have frightened you the way I have. I had no idea that you're a Scharfblicke... am I pronouncing that correctly?" He knew the correct pronunciation but mispronounced it intentionally to see if she'd correct him and she did. He could see that she was beginning to calm a bit. At least her leg wasn't shaking as hard and fast as it once was. "So, let's start with the obvious stuff first. Can you think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt your brother?"

At the mention of her brother, Nick could see that for just a moment, because of her fear of Nick, she had actually forgotten that her brother had been killed and her eyes began to well up with tears and she was becoming too emotional to speak.

Nick turned to Hank, "Do me a favor, go outside and call Trubel, ask her to text the photo to you. She'll know what you're talking about. I forgot to have her send it to me."

As Hank stepped out, Nick slid off the couch, and while remaining crouched, he took Sam's hand in his. She flinched at first but was able to open her eyes enough to look at Nick. He said, "I'm going to do whatever I can to find the person who did this."

She nodded and took her hand back. At first, Nick thought she was pulling away, but instead, she leaned forward and put her arms around his neck and hugged him. Not exactly the detached professionalism that was expected of a homicide detective. Nick saw no way to get around it and just let it happen.

Sam said, "It's so hard hearing that my brother was killed while also having what I've been taught is the scariest and most deadly type of person holding my hand, trying to console me. My emotions don't know which direction to go. Thank you for being patient." She released Nick from her hug and sat up. The occasional tear would stream down her cheeks. Nick saw she wasn't quite ready to answer questions, because first, she had some of her own. "So, is there like a Wesen division of the police department?"

As Nick sat back onto the couch his first instinct was to say no, then realized that technically, he, Hank, Wu and his boss Captain Renard were all informed about Wesen and worked a lot of the Wesen related cases. He said, "Not officially. There's only a handful in the department that I'm aware of that know. My partner being one of them."

Sam began wiping at her face, Nick saw a nearby box of tissues and got up to retrieve them for her. The simple act of him handing her a tissue box caused her to shake her head, "I was taught to run if I ever saw a Grimm. To run as far and as fast as I possibly can. Our parents hammered that into us from when we were in diapers. They said a Grimm had killed my grandparents on my mother's side."

She blew her nose.

When she was done, Nick said, "I"m sorry to hear that. I currently know one other Grimm and she wouldn't hurt you either."

Sam asked, "Currently?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, my mother and my aunt. They both have passed away."

Surprisingly, Sam was now the one expressing sympathy to him for having lost family, "I'm so sorry. Were they like you? I mean, would they also not have hurt me?"

Nick briefly raised an eyebrow in thought. "I'm pretty sure my aunt wouldn't have. There was a time I wouldn't have been sure about my mother. When she found out I was friends with a Blutbad and a Fuchsbau, well..."

Sam interrupted, "You're friends with a Blutbad and a Fuchsbau?!"

Nick chuckled a bit, "Yes, and when they first met my mom, let's just say it didn't go well, but she adapted and came to accept them."

Through her grief, Sam smiled and said, "This is the craziest stuff I've ever heard. A Grimm friends with a Blutbad and a Fuchsbau."

Nick was happy to see that Sam had stopped crying, though her face was still wet and her eyes were still red. So, he added, "As a matter of fact, the Blutbad is going to be the best man at my wedding."

"And let me guess... You're marrying a..." Her eyes began darting around as she tried to come up with the most ridiculous Wesen she could think of.

Nick answered for her, "A Hexenbiest."

Sam's expression of skeptical wonder changed to that of just skeptical as she said, "Okay, now I know you're lying."

Nick saw he was losing her. She actually looked a little angry, "Other than inviting you to the wedding I don't know how to convince you, but yes, I'm marrying a Hexenbiest."

Sam sniffed loudly and blew her nose again. She looked at the ceiling as a few more tears fell from her eyes. She wiped them away and said, "You actually had me going there for a minute. Don't get me wrong, I get why you're saying this stuff. You're trying to calm me down. So I'm not mad."

Nick interrupted, "If Hank can confirm it when he comes back inside, will you be convinced by that?"

She nodded and they both sat in silence for another minute before Hank reentered the room. He said, "Check your phone, you should have the picture now."

Before Nick could respond, Sam asked, "Hank, who, and what, is Mr. Grimm here marrying?"

Hank didn't understand the line of questioning at first and asked, "What? You mean Adalind?"

Sam replied, "Right. Is she Wesen?"

Hank sat down on the couch and said, "Oh yeah. She's Wesen, alright."

"Well, what kind?" Sam insisted.

Hank looked at Nick, "Did I miss something important? What's going on?"

Nick said, "Go ahead and tell her, Hank, she doesn't believe me."

Hank looked at Sam and said, "She's a Hexenbiest."

Sam, still skeptical said, "And the best man, what's he?"

"A Blutbad. Is there a reason this all came up?" Hank looked at Nick and tilted his hand in the air as if to say, 'What's going on here?'

At that moment, Nick suddenly had a thought and his facial expression became deadly serious. He looked at Sam, staring unblinkingly into her eyes and asked, "You're not one of those Wesen who hates mixed marriages are you?"

Sam who had finally calmed down, started becoming nervous again. "No! God, no. I believe people should love who they love."

The tension in Nick's eyes vanished, he smiled and as he leaned back in his seat, he said, "Good."

Hank spoke, but so softly Sam could barely hear him, "Two good friends of ours were nearly killed by a group of those fanatics. That was a scary day."

Sam had been hearing their words, but was only just understanding the depth of their meaning and asked, "You guys really protect Wesen?"

Nick nodded but also shrugged his shoulders at the same time, "Wesen are people. We protect people, most often though, from other people, including other Wesen. Do me a favor, please don't go around telling people about me. It hasn't gone well in the past."

Sam nodded and said, "Sure."

Nick said, "First, I need you tell us your brother's cell phone number. It's possible the killer is in possession of your brother's phone. And, like I was asking before, can you think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt your brother?"

Sam provided the cell number and Nick texted it to Wu who would begin a search for the phone. Nick and Hank asked a lot of standard questions about Sam and her brother, Zachary. But, other than his place of employment which was back downtown, she wasn't aware of anything that could be thought of as helpful.

Nick showed Sam the picture of the unnamed man on his phone and asked if she had seen him. But she hadn't. "I believe he may have been involved, but I don't know anything for sure yet. If you see him, do not approach him. You run, you call me or call 911." He handed her a business card with his name and number on it. "Do you have anyone you can stay with for a few days?"

"I have some friends, yeah. Why?"

Nick attempted to give Sam a reassuring look, "I have no reason to believe that the killer will come here, but he did have access to this address, same as we did, through your brother's wallet. Just to be safe, you should be somewhere else for a little while. Don't pack a lot of stuff, just grab a few things and go. You had mentioned your parents earlier, where are they?"

She wiped at her face and said, "Cancer. About five years apart. They left us this house."

Nick reached out one more time and he and Sam hugged again before he left. As he was walking down the front stairs he turned to Hank and said, "Don't you dare tell a soul about that."

Hank replied, "Your secret is safe with me. You big softy." He grinned mischievously.

---

Shortly thereafter, Hank and Nick arrived back downtown and parked in front of the boutique that Zachary Gray had worked at. When they stepped inside, they found a store filled with various merchandise, t-shirts, coffee mugs, post cards. A lot of touristy memorabilia. They walked up to the counter, flashed their badges and asked to speak with whoever was in charge.

A moment later, a haggard older man stepped out to greet them. As unkempt as his gray hair and beard was, it was offputting at how cheerful he was when he greeted them, smiling as though he was trying to sell them a used car. "I'm the owner, Lucas Bello, what I can do for you gentlemen?"

They introduced themselves and provided the news that Zachary had been murdered just a few blocks away. Lucas' smile faded. "That's terrible. His sister must be beside herself with grief. I only met her a few times, but those two were very close."

Nick asked, "How long had Zachary worked here?"

Lucas looked up and thought for a moment and said, "I want to say it was somewhere between three and four years. I have records if you need me to verify."

Hank shook his head, "That likely shouldn't be necessary, we're just trying to get an understanding of his background. Had he been acting strangely at all recently? Mention anyone that might have been hostile towards him?"

Lucas, shook his head, "No, not at all. This wasn't his dream job, but he liked working here. He was always very friendly with the people who came in. I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to hurt him. Didn't you say you believed it was a mugging?"

Nick replied, "We have to rule out every possibility." Nick showed Lucas his phone with the picture of the nameless man on the screen. "Does this man look familiar to you at all?"

Lucas had to fish his reading glasses out of his shirt pocket and after he placed them on, he took a better look at the phone, "No, can't say I recognize him. But hundreds of people are in and out of here every day."

Nick took his phone back and said, "Well, he's a person of interest. If you see him, please notify us immediately." He handed Lucas a business card. "Can you tell us what time yesterday Zachary left?"

Lucas reached under the counter and pulled out a clipboard with layers of paper attached, "According to the schedule he was done here at nine last night. I wasn't here though, I worked the day shift."

Hank pointed at a security camera and asked, "Would we be able to get the footage from last night?"

Without the owner's consent, they'd need a warrant so Nick and Hank were relieved when Lucas said he'd have it prepared.

Nick said, "Excellent. We'll have Sergeant Wu stop by and pick it up later. Is there anyone here that worked with Zachary last night?"

Lucas double checked his clipboard, "No. See, everyone here typically works in the day time. The evening crew won't be here for another few hours. But I can get you their names and numbers if that helps."

Hank nodded, "That would be a huge help. We'll have Wu pick that up with the security footage."

As they were leaving Nick called Wu, put him on speaker and updated him on the investigation. Then asked, "Any news on the cell phone?"

Wu replied, "Yes, but you're not gonna like it. We tracked the phone to a different trash can three blocks away."

Hank responded, "We need to pull any surveillance we can between the murder scene and the two trash cans."

Wu in his usual sardonic tone said, "I thought you'd say that. I have people on it."

Nick hung up and looked at Hank, "This investigation is going nowhere until we have some video footage to look at. I'm heading home for now. Call me when we have something."

---

Nick was feeling a bit grimy since having picked up the trailer and moving all those boxes, so he wanted to shower. He wasn't surprised when he got home and found the loft empty. Adalind was working and she often took Kelly with her and this week was Sean Renard's week with Diana. He took his shirt off and was about to step into the bathroom when his motion sensor alarm went off. He walked to his security monitor and began toggling through different video feeds when he found what he was looking for.

A car had pulled up to the front of his loft garage door. A person stepped out of the driver's side door and looked directly into the camera so Nick could see that it was Eve. He pushed a button and the garage door opened. Eve sat back down in her car and drove it into the garage.

Nick put his shirt back on and waited for Eve to make her way up. When she stepped out of the freight elevator Nick spoke first, "I assume you're here on business."

Eve was wearing all black. A black shirt with a black coat over top of it. Eve had a selection of wigs she could wear and she was wearing a black wig as well. Nick felt the all black ensemble gave Eve an imposing figure. Especially challenging for someone as slender as she was.

Eve nodded as she looked around the loft to see if anything had changed since she'd last been there. The only things that could be considered new were the children's toys. Kelly had been an infant since she was last there. Now he'd become a toddler and the toys on the ground reflected that.

She pivoted and looked at Nick, "Trubel told you about the man we're after." It wasn't a question, but she was seeking confirmation.

Nick didn't deny it and simply asked, "What can you tell me about him?"

At first she didn't say anything. Then she asked if she could have a glass of water. Nick got her a bottle of water out of his refrigerator. She drank half of it before she looked at him, but then she turned her back to him and said, "He's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Cold. Calculating. Powerful. And, Nick, he's fast. So fast. You know how people bring up the cliche of playing Cat and Mouse. Well, that's what he does, but the whole time he has you believing that you're the Cat. I've been after him for months and he's always a few steps ahead. But sometimes he lingers behind a little and gives the impression that maybe he's tripped up, stayed in one place too long. You think he's finally made a mistake, but no. He's just having fun. I've seen so many people dead at his hands. I wasn't the only one tracking him. I'm just the last one left standing." Since becoming Eve, she'd been able to keep her emotions in check in a near robotic way. But when she lay dying after a violent confrontation, Nick healed her with a stick. The stick was later found out to be a broken off piece of a magical Staff. When it healed her, it did something to her mind. She still identified as Eve, but the compartmentalization of her mind had been compromised. It became more difficult to keep her emotions separated.

Nick could see in her eyes that she was struggling, so he took a few steps towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. She pulled away and turned back to look at him. "You have to stay out of this, Nick. He's too dangerous."

"I can't do that. We believe he may have killed someone in Portland. I think I saw him today at a crime scene"

She put her hand to her forehead and said more to herself than to Nick, "Of course he's killed someone else." Then to Nick she said, "He'll likely kill more people before he leaves Portland and goes who knows where."

Nick sat on a stool and said, "What is he? What makes him so dangerous?"

Eve, almost shouting, replied, "He's a Grimm, Nick! But he's not like you and Trubel. The way he moves, it's like he knows what you're going to do before you do."

Nick thought back to when he first saw his mother after he thought she'd been dead for years. At first, he didn't recognize her and attempted to attack her. But she dodged and blocked every punch he threw her way.

He stood up from the stool, his eyes widened as the realization set in, he said, "So, you're telling me there's a psycho Grimm here in Portland and what, is killing people... killing Wesen, indiscriminately?"

Eve nodded. "We think so. We can't always verify the people he's killing are Wesen. Maybe they're not every time."

Nick tilted his head up and asked, "Have you fought him?"

Eve turned away again, "He's almost killed me... twice. All told, I've spent about three weeks healing up from my encounters with him. If I hadn't been a Hexenbiest, I don't think I'd have survived at all. There were four of us against just him and he tore through us like we were amateurs in less than five minutes. My only advantage right now is that I'm pretty sure he thinks he killed me last time."

Nick began processing all the information Trubel had told him earlier that morning and his expression changed to that of puzzlement, "Why all the secrecy from HW?" His facial expression changed again to that of disappointment, "He worked for HW during the whole Black Claw thing didn't he?"

Eve snorted a brief laugh and said, "I knew you'd see between the lines. You're not a detective for nothing."

"So, what... HW is embarrassed that someone in their organization has gone rogue? They want to take him down before they get any more egg on their face? Is that it? Or, and I really hope for their sake I'm wrong about this, they don't care all that much, because it's only Wesen he's killing?"

Eve did her best to speak with confidence, "I'm fairly certain it's the first one. HW is doing what they can to track him down, but he knows their methods. He's trained with a lot of them. Fought side by side with a lot of them. We can't be certain, but we think he wants you next, Nick."

"Me? I get that I'm a Grimm too, but is there something beyond the similarity that he would want to come after me?"

Eve turned to Nick and stepped toward him, "Nick, I know and you know that you had a team of people working with you to take down Black Claw in Portland. But, Nick, all of that information is need-to-know at HW. To a lot of people, you single-handedly defended a major city. You got all the credit for killing Conrad Bonaparte. HW management thinks he's impressed by you."

Nick took his phone out of his pocket and said, "Give me his name, I'm putting out an APB on him."

Eve shook her head and said, "You can't do that. If he finds out the police in the region are looking for him he'll simply vanish and possibly kill several cops in the process."

Nick put his phone back in his pocket, "Fine, but tell me his name. I can at least tell the people in our inner circle." Nick used his fingers to draw a circle in the air, but he did it out of the frustration of his limitations.

Eve waited a moment for Nick to get a hold of his temper and said, "According to HW, the name he gave was Charles Spencer. He was supposedly raised in Alabama. So far as we know, he has no living relatives. I have some files that say he'd mentioned to people that his parents had been killed by Wesen. Not sure which kind though. I also have a psychological profile drawn up by HW that, in summary, says not to believe anything he says."

Eve drank the rest of her water, sat down the empty bottle and said, "After HW took down Black Claw, they started cutting loose a lot of operatives. He was one of them. So far as we can tell he's been traveling from random place to random place killing any Wesen he happens to come across and takes whatever cash they have on them so he can support himself. He's been trained by HW to avoid surveillance and to not leave evidence. He's a ghost. He knows how the game is played and worst of all, he enjoys it."

An idea came to Nick, "Sounds like what we need to do is change the rules."

He took his phone out of his pocket and as he was about to dial, it rang. He answered and from what he was being told, Eve could see he was both disappointed and angry. When he hung up, he said, "They found another body. I have to get to the crime scene. But first, I need you to do something while I'm out."

Chapter Eight

When Nick arrived at the crime scene, he was the one to supply coffee to Hank. They had a nearly unspoken alternating agreement. Nick, feeling like he was repeating himself, said, "What do we got?"

They were in a skater park so it was no surprise to Nick when Hank informed him, "We have a roller skater. Body found at the bottom of one of the deeper pools. Can't be certain, but it looks like a broken neck. Could simply be an accident though." He sipped the coffee that Nick had handed him.

This time, Nick put on the latex gloves and began searching the body for any kind of ID but when he got a look at the skaters face he said, "This kid can't be that old. Maybe fourteen? Fifteen? There may not be an ID to find." It wasn't uncommon for skaters to not wear protective gear like they should and it appeared this skater didn't like wearing any either. But there was a skateboard several feet from the body so maybe it was an accident after all.

Nick looked up at Hank, "Any witnesses?"

Hank pointed at a crowd of onlookers, many of whom were holding skateboards, and said, "I was about to go find out."

Nick followed him to the crowd and while they walked, he looked around. The skatepark had no visible surveillance that he could see, it had complete public access. It was a good fifty yards to the nearest business or residence.

As they neared the crowd Nick began feeling like he was being watched. He stopped and glanced in every direction he could but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. However, the feeling didn't go away.

He jogged a bit to catch back up with Hank and when they got to the crowd, Hank asked loud enough for everyone to hear, "Which one of you called this in?"

A small hand raised itself up from inside the crowd. A black girl that couldn't have been older than thirteen. Her clothes a few sizes too big or her. The hood of her jacket was up. She stepped forward and it was obvious she didn't much like being the center of attention. She folded her arms across her chest and wouldn't look them in the eyes.

Hank asked her, "Did you know him?"

She nodded her head but still didn't look up.

Hank continued, "Can you tell us his name?"

She spoke so softly that Hank couldn't make out what she said, he was about to ask her to repeat herself when Nick said, "She said, 'Tony.'"

Hank gave him a side eyed glance as if to wordlessly say, 'That Grimm hearing of yours.'

Hank looked back at the girl and asked, "What's your name?"

She managed a brief glance into his eyes and said, "Tabitha. Everyone calls me Tabby or Tabbs." She still spoke very softly but Hank was able to make out the words out this time.

Hank took a step closer to her to help aid in hearing what she had to say as he asked, "Tabitha, may I have your last name for our report?"

She nodded and simultaneously said, "Barlow."

Hank asked, "Did you see what happened? Do you know if anyone did?"

The other skaters behind her began shuffling their feet and one of them halfheartedly raised his hand to try to get their attention. Nick looked at him and nodded his head, "Did you see something?"

A white kid with a piercing through his lip and fairly long black hair that he kept having to brush away from his eyes as he spoke stepped forward. Nick assessed he was probably a bit older, sixteen, maybe seventeen, he said, "Nah, we were all here skating together. But we were all feeling hungry and went to the corner store," he pointed at a store that could be barely be seen in the distance, "But Tony was short on cash, so he stayed behind. We were gone maybe twenty minutes, thirty tops. When we got back we found him like that. I wanted to tell you that I did touch his body. I've seen those CSI shows and I don't want to cause any problems, but I had to make sure that he for sure wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. Tony was a good kid, it sucks this happened."

Nick nodded and thought maybe he understood what was going on, so he asked, "You're the oldest one here? You look out for the kids that skate here, is that right?"

The kid replied, "Well, I mean, not in any kind of official way. Kids get hurt here sometimes, a sprained wrist or ankle, but never anything like this." He pointed in the direction of Tony's body. "I've occasionally had to help a kid or two get home after a bad spill and the kids here know to ask me for help if need be. I've been skating here for three years, maybe."

Hank asked so everyone could hear, "Can anyone tell me Tony's last name?"

When no one spoke up, Nick followed up asking, "Does anyone know where he lives?"

Tabitha meekly raised her hand again. Nick asked for the address but she didn't know it. So softly, that even Nick had to bend down to hear her, she said, "I'm not sure he lives there, but I've seen him coming down the front stairs a few times. I can take you there."

Hank waved down Sgt. Wu and he came trotting over to meet them. Before Hank could speak he said, "I have some video footage you two need to look at when you get a minute. What do you need?"

Hank told Wu he could go ahead and take Tony's body to the medical examiner and then he pointed to the kid that had touched Tony's body and explained the situation. He then turned to the kid and said, "Sergeant Wu here is going to take your personal info down in case we need to follow up with you about anything. So you know, you didn't do anything wrong, but we need to document everything. Okay?"

The kid nodded his head and walked off with Sergeant Wu.

Then he looked at Tabitha and said, "Could you show us the way to what you think is Tony's home?"

---

Tabitha, being as small in stature as she was, didn't walk very fast and it took several minutes to walk to the house that was only a few blocks away. When they arrived, Nick asked, "Can you wait here? I would prefer to walk you to your home when this is over."

Without saying a word she sat down on the bottom step of the front porch and began playing with the strings of her coat.

Nick and Hank walked up the stairs and before they knocked, Nick took out a pair of sunglasses. It was late afternoon and the sun was still out, but only barely. He placed them on and said to Hank, "Just in case."

They knocked and waited. Just when they thought no one was home both a man and woman opened the door together. They both appeared to have gotten home not long ago. The man was wearing a shirt, tie and slacks, the woman was wearing a sleeveless blouse and a knee length skirt.

To Nick, it felt like the day was on a loop, the man who answered asked, "Can I help you?"

Hank, still wearing his detective badge on a chain around his neck, held it up again so they both could see it more clearly, he said, "I'm Detective Griffin, this is Detective Burkhardt. We need to ask you a few questions."

Nick didn't allow them to speak before he said, "May we have your names, please?"

The man put his hand on the door frame, pulling the woman's slender frame closer to his chest. It was clear he was feeling protective. But he answered Nick's question, "My name is Isaac Seidel and this is my wife, Sasha."

That was the easy part. Now came something much more troubling. Hank asked, "Do you have any children?"

This time it was the woman who spoke, Sasha said, "Our son Tony. Why? Is he in trouble?"

Nick answered her, "I'm very sorry to tell you that Tony was killed in the skatepark today."

To deliver news like this twice in the same day was emotionally draining to Nick. A girl lost her brother and these two people lost their son. When working homicide long enough, it can cause one to build up a thick skin. Death is seen every day. But some days, that thick skin isn't enough. Especially when it came to the loss of a child.

Nick and Hank stood for a moment while the Seidels absorbed the news they'd just been provided. Sasha was the first to react, covering her mouth and then turning her body so she could embrace her husband. He put his arms around her and put his chin in the crook of her neck as they mourned the loss of their son. As Nick expected, they Woged. The sunglasses became completely unnecessary as neither of them were looking at him. Nick recognized them as Lausenschlange. A snake like Wesen with greenish skin that more resembled scales. When they ended their Woge, they both turned to face Nick and Hank as Isaac asked, "Can you tell us what happened?"

Hank answered, "At this time we're still gathering all the facts, but so far, no witnesses have come forward and it's possible it may have been a simple accident. However, we are still investigating."

Nick looked at Hank and motioned with his head to look after Tabitha who was still waiting patiently on the bottom stair. Hank lifted an eyebrow as if to wordlessly ask, 'Wesen?' and Nick nodded. Hank then said, "Excuse me, Nick has some questions and I have something I have to attend to." He walked down the stairs to sit with Tabitha.

Nick said, "Can we talk inside?"

Sasha wiped at the corner of her eye and said, "Of course."

Nick stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he said, "The girl outside, her name is Tabitha. She thought that Tony lived here but wasn't sure and didn't know Tony's last name, so she volunteered to walk us over."

Before he could continue Sasha said, "I'd like to thank her before she leaves if that's okay."

Nick nodded and said, "That would be fine. Just know, she's probably the shyest person I've ever met. That she helped us must have been pretty hard for her."

Nick took off his sunglasses and said, "But the reason I mentioned her and why we came inside was that I didn't want her to hear the rest of what we need to talk about. Can we sit down?"

The couple were clearly uncomfortable, but did their best to accommodate Nick and directed him to sit at their dining table. He sat on one side and the Seidels sat on the opposite.

Nick continued, "Now, like my partner Hank was saying, this very well may have been an accident and I don't wish to alarm you, but in case it's not an accident, I wanted to ask a few questions."

"Can you think of anyone who would have wanted to harm your son? Any rivalries he may have had. Any fights he'd gotten into?"

The Seidels looked at each other as if to confirm neither knew of anything and then turned to Nick and shook their heads.

He took out his phone and pulled up the picture of Charles Spencer and showed it to the couple, "Have either of you seen this man before?"

They both looked closely and then looked at each other again to see if they recognized him, but neither did. They shook their heads. Isaac asked, "Do you think he had something to do with Tony's death?"

Nick replied, "We're not sure of anything right now." He pulled at his collar as if it were getting warmer in the room, but really Nick was struggling with how best to bring up that he's a Grimm without causing panic. "At the next thing I'm going to say, I don't want you to be alarmed," he took a deep breath and finished, "but I'm a Grimm."

They both Woged again and when they saw Nick, Sasha jumped out of her seat and stood behind her husband and said, "What do you want?"

Nick saw they were staying in their Woged state for now and said, "I apologize for alarming you and for having to give you the news this way, but to get the bottom of the investigation, there are things I need to know. For example, I'm not completely familiar with Lausenschlange physiology. How possible is it that your son could have simply had a bad spill and broken his neck while skating?"

Sasha, still in her Woged state put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oh my god, is that how he died?"

Nick nodded and added, "The medical examiner hasn't taken a look at him yet, but based on what we saw, that would be the apparent cause of death."

At last, the Seidels relaxed and went back to their non-Woged appearance. Sasha apologized to Nick and sat back down in her chair.

Nick wouldn't accept her apology, "Please, you have nothing to be sorry for. I understand the Grimm reputation." Nick didn't intend it as a double entendre, but it came out that way.

Isaac looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment, Nick guessed he was deciding how honest he should be about their physiology with a Grimm. But then he looked at Nick and said, "Lausenschlanges are extremely flexible. What you're describing isn't impossible. But, it's also far from likely. Tony has only been skating for a year or so and he's gotten really good. That famous skater, Tony Hawk? He was Tony's hero. So, between how good he was, and how flexible we are as Wesen? No, I don't see how what you're describing could have happened."

Nick said, "We're still waiting for the medical examiner to confirm everything I've told you, but the information you've provided me will likely help a lot."

Sasha had gotten better control over her emotions and said, "The man you showed us, how does he fit into all this?"

Nick sighed a deep sigh and said, "As of now, maybe not at all. Here is what you need to know. I'm a Grimm. I have a friend who lives in the region, she's a Grimm too. Contrary to what you've heard about us, we don't go around arbitrarily killing Wesen. But from what little intel I have on this guy," he pointed at his phone, "he's a Grimm who does."

Sasha gasped and Isaac clenched his fist and Woged again briefly. Nick looked into Isaac's eyes and feared Isaac was going to let his temper get the better of him and said, "I'd like to text you this picture, however, I need you to give me your word," he looked at Sasha, "both of you, that you will not approach him if you do see him. That you will run away and call me instead?"

Making this promise rubbed them both the wrong way, so Isaac asked, "And what will you do about him?"

Nick leaned back in his chair and said, "I'm going to do my best to arrest him. But failing that... Well..."

Isaac was skeptical and said, "So a Grimm is gonna, you know, another Grimm?"

Nick looked him in the eye and replied, "Your son was what, 14 years old?"

Sasha answered for Isaac, "He just turned last month."

Nick said, "I'm a father myself, and if he was actually responsible for the death of your son, then... yeah. My goal is to put handcuffs on him. But I know and you know... sometimes... that just isn't an option."

Sasha and Isaac nodded their head in understanding. Isaac placed his hand on Sasha's shoulder and looked at Nick and said, "In that case, you have our word."

Nick nodded gratefully and asked, "Would Tony have had anything on him that would have led anyone to this address? We couldn't find anything when we looked."

Isaac looked to Sasha to see if she had any idea what Tony would have had on him, "I can't think of anything, why?"

Nick stood up and glanced out the window to see Hank was actually in conversation with Tabitha about something. Nick responded to Sasha, "In an abundance of caution, I would advise that you stay somewhere else for a few nights, just in case that Grimm does know about you and where you live."

Isaac took a deep breath through his nose, "I don't like the idea of hiding like a coward."

Nick, who'd expected that response had something prepared, "Well, you won't be hiding like a coward, you'll be staying safe and, if you're willing, you'll be helping to coordinate finding him and catching him."

Sasha stood up from her chair and walked over to Nick and asked, "And how exactly would we be doing that?"

Nick went over his plan with them. When they'd all exchanged contact information they stepped outside to join Hank and Tabitha.

Sasha stepped over to Tabitha and asked, "So, you knew Tony?"

Tabitha stood up from the step and took a step back and nodded. Sasha continued, "Nick tells me you helped them to find our house. I just wanted to say thank you." Her eyes began to well up with tears and she said, "It just means so much to us that you would help like that. If I may, I'd like to hug you."

Tabitha, who still hadn't made eye contact with any of them, stood for a moment and then raised her hand up to show her thumb and forefinger very close together and Sasha quickly understood and said, "A small hug, you got it."

Sasha bent down to hug Tabitha and just as Tabitha's chin touched Sasha's shoulder, she Woged. Nick recognized her as a Willahara, a rare and very timid Wesen. It now became clear to Nick why she was so shy. He attempted to avert his eyes as quickly as he could, but it was no good. Tabitha had seen that he's a Grimm. She pulled away from Sasha in such panic and fear that Sasha also saw the last few seconds of Tabitha's Woge. She looked behind herself and saw that Nick was standing there and caught Tabitha before she could get too far. Sasha said, "No, no, baby, he's not going to hurt you. I promise!"

Willaharas are so rare because they're hunted not only by Grimms but also other Wesen. They're a rabbit like Wesen and it's believed by many in the Wesen community that to place the amputated foot of a Willahara beneath your bed makes it more likely you'll conceive a child. A barbaric practice. For this reason, it's very rare for them to Woge around anyone. But Tabitha is very young and likely doesn't have the restraint of an adult.

Nick wasn't sure if it would be wise to tell a Willahara that the person that just hugged her is a Lausenschlange but it appeared that Sasha was about to do so anyway. First, she looked at Hank, and said, "Nick tells me you know all about us?"

Hank nodded, "Still getting used to it, but yes."

Isaac commented, "Well, if you're still new to it that would be understandable."

Nick scratched the back of his head and half jokingly said, "I wouldn't say he's still new to it."

Sasha pointed at Nick while speaking to Tabitha, "See? Nick is friendly and won't hurt you. And I know you're concerned about us," she Woged and Tabitha's eyes widened in fear and Nick felt justified in his conclusion that it was bad idea.

If Hank hadn't been standing directly behind Tabitha it's likely she would have run off, never to be seen again, but when she turned to run, Hank put his hands on her shoulders and crouched down to her level. Hank didn't know what kind of Wesen any of them were, as he couldn't see anything that Nick had seen, but he was able to piece some things together based on everyone's reactions and said, "I know you've been taught all your life to run as fast as you can if you ever see a Grimm, but Nick, he's not going to hurt you. And Mr. and Mrs Seidel? They're not going to hurt you either. And believe it or not, if they tried to, Nick," He nodded his head at Nick and Nick smiled a barely perceptible smile, "he would protect you. And I would, too. I promise."

Tabitha looked at all the people around her. She saw a mix of smiles and looks of concern but no apparent threats and so she nodded and ever so quietly said, "Okay."

Nick looked at the Seidels and said, "Don't linger here too long. Grab some stuff and go."

They nodded in appreciation and went back inside.

The sun was setting and the street lights were beginning to come on. Nick put his hands in his jacket pockets and said, "Well, Tabitha, let's get you home."

Hank and Nick walked her home. Nick said to Hank, "Sorry I had to have you watch Tabitha, but there was some stuff I didn't think she should overhear. I want to talk to her parents and this time you should be there so you can hear what I'm planning." When they arrived they all had a very familiar conversation with Tabitha's mother and Father and, this time, Hank learned it all himself as well.

Chapter 9

As they walked back to the crime scene where they had left their vehicles, Hank pointed out that they weren't all that far from Samantha Gray's home, "It can't be more than what, a five minute drive maybe?"

Nick nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. I was planning on driving by and making sure she actually did leave like I asked her to."

Hank asked, "You think the Seidels left their home, too?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders and confessed he wasn't sure. "It's a big ask. They're proud people and being asked to hide, it can have an effect on the ego. But I'm pretty sure I got through to them. I can only hope that the Grimm had nothing to do with this or that Tony didn't have any kind of personal info on him that would have led back to their home."

Before Hank could respond, Nick's phone rang. He answered it and said, "Yeah, he's with me. We'll be there in ten."

When he hung up he looked at Hank and said, "We have another body. It's in this same area."

After they each got back to their vehicles they both drove to the scene separately. When they arrived, Wu walked up to them and said, "The captain is asking for updates and I have that video footage all queued up and ready to be reviewed, but first you'll want to see this." Wu lifted the crime scene tape high enough that Hank and Nick could bend under as they found the body of a white male stuffed behind a dumpster of a neighborhood bar, his neck had been torn to shreds. Nick crouched down for a better look. The victim was wearing a simple pair of roughed up jeans and a t-shirt of what Nick assumed was a band he'd never heard of. The front of the shirt was soaked in the victim's blood.

Hank expected the answer to be 'no' but asked anyway, "Any ID?"

Wu replied, "No, but we don't need one in this case. I know this guy. Arrested him a few times for dealing. Nothing big, he mainly deals in things like Ecstasy. I think he was on parole. His name is Matthias Winn. Typically goes by Matt."

Nick gestured at the bar, "Anyone see him inside?"

Wu shook his head, "Thing is, the guy behind the bar said that Matt was in there pretty frequently, obviously a parole violation, but hadn't seen him at all today. Maybe he was on his way in when he was attacked?"

Nick stood back up and said, "And let me guess, there's no surveillance of any kind back here."

Wu said, "I'm starting to see a pattern here."

Hank said, "We've seen what we need to see here. I think we should go talk to the people in the bar."

The bar was named, 'The 8-Ball Bar.'

Nick expected the place to be filled with pool tables but found it to be just a bar. He looked again at the sign to see if maybe he'd misread it, but no, it was definitely the outline of the billiard ball with an '8' on it. Hank lifted his badge so everyone could see it and Nick took his badge out of his pocket and did the same.

Hank called out, "Is there anyone here who knew Matt?"

The bartender raised his hand and a few others along the bar did as well. Nick said, "I got the barkeep, you talk to the others."

Nick stepped over and asked the barkeep's name. He told Nick it was Alan but advised that even though he'd served Matt drinks, other than discussions of sports, mainly Hockey, he didn't know anything about his home life or anyone that would want to hurt him. Nick showed him the photo on his phone and the barkeep said he'd never seen him. Nick was getting frustrated. When Eve said this guy was a ghost, she wasn't exaggerating. Nick couldn't be sure he was responsible for any of the deaths they're investigating. All the questioning he was doing could be for nothing. Maybe Nick was wrong about having seen him earlier that morning. Maybe the guy wasn't even in Portland. He felt like he was chasing his own tail.

He walked over to Hank who wasn't having much luck either.

As they left the bar Hank looked at Nick and said, "Are we even sure these deaths are related? Other than them being Wesen I see no real connection.

Wu overheard and said, "Guys, I really need you to see this video."

Wu put his laptop on the hood of Nick's SUV and said, "I had our techs sift through footage of as many feeds as we could get without needing a warrant. Thankfully, we had a handful of business owners willing to help voluntarily."

Nick and Hank stood waiting for Wu to hit play when Nick asked, "Well, was any of it actually helpful?"

Wu bobbed his head a little and said, "Maybe?" He hit play.

The video played and Nick saw crowds of people bustling down the sidewalk. Wu pressed the pause button and pointed at the screen. "There is our vic. Looking at the time stamp, I'd say he'd just left work a few minutes beforehand."

Hank said, "He doesn't look like he's in any trouble. The guy is staring at his phone."

Wu said, "Well, here's where things get interesting. In a second, this other guy in a hoodie is going to walk past him and suddenly stop and turn around." Wu hit play again.

Moments into the clip, whatever Zachary saw on his phone must have hit a chord, because he Woged. Nick could see it, but neither Wu nor Hank would have had any idea. The man in the hoodie had been walking in the opposite direction and passing Zachary just as he woged. Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Half a second."

Hank said, "What?"

Nick shook his head and pointed back to the screen. The man in the hoodie stopped dead in his tracks just as Zachary had passed him. He stood there for just a few seconds, then spun on his heels. Finally, Nick could see his face and even though the video was fairly grainy, he was pretty certain it was Charles Spencer. Spencer walked after Zachary, but then the available footage cut out and there was nothing suggesting there had been any confrontation between the two of them.

Hank asked, "So, what was that about?"

Nick explained. Just half a second was all that Zachary would have needed and he'd likely still be alive right now. He Woged just a moment too soon and Spencer saw it.

Hank asked, "But why would he have Woged?"

Nick shrugged and said, "Who knows. Something on his phone. A break up text, a sports score saying his favorite team lost. Anything that could have gotten his hackles up. I don't think that it even matters."

Nick's frustration was beginning to boil over, "This guy killed at least one innocent person today because of a poorly timed Woge and the way Eve describes him, he's unstoppable."

Wu asked, "Eve? Is she back in town?"

Hank put a hand up and said, "We'll explain at the office. We've been out in the field almost all day. Hopefully the ME will have something for us on the first couple cases."

---

Hank and Wu went back to the station and Nick planned to join them, but first he wanted to follow up on Samantha Gray.

When he pulled up to the curb he could see that all the lights were out. He was fairly certain no one was home. But even in the near darkness, with only the street lights lighting his view, the reflection on the door's glass didn't look right. He stepped out of his car and took a few steps up the stairs and saw the reason. The door was partially open. Not much, but enough to distort the reflection. He went back to his car, pulled out a flashlight and secured the vehicle.

As he approached the front door he pulled his Glock-17 out of its holster and carefully joined it with the flashlight he was holding. He leaned in and opened the door the rest of the way with his shoulder. He pointed his handgun/flashlight combination into the doorway. Back and forth, sweeping through every section he could while still remaining, technically, outside the premises.

Finally, he decided that he had no choice but to call out. He shouted, "Samantha! This is Detective Burkhardt. Your front door was open. I'm coming inside." After he announced he was entering the home, he actually did the opposite and took a step backwards. He remained motionless. Listening for any kind of response. He focused all his attention on his Grimm hearing. However, the only noises coming from inside the house were the electronics and heating. He took a step forward again and this time examined the door frame. It wasn't obvious at first glance, but the door was definitely forced open.

Nick took a step forward but stopped again. Now he could hear something. Breathing. Soft breathing. But it was coming from behind him. He turned as quickly as could but it was too late. Someone, or something, shoved him hard. He tripped on the entrance way as he fell sideways through the door. As he hit the ground, his gun and flashlight slid on the hardwood floors. His temple collided awkwardly with the bottom most stair leading to the second floor. His shoulder was pressed to his ear and as he attempted to straighten up to defend himself he was kicked hard in his back. Twice he'd been hit and Nick still didn't know who was assaulting him. He couldn't stop himself from reacting to the pain he felt in his back, he let out a guttural cry of pain.

He got his bearings as best he could and rolled away from the stairs, further into the house. Near where he and Hank had sat on the couch earlier that day.

He attempted to get to his feet while also looking around for his Glock. He could see the light from his flashlight, but it had rolled under the couch. Before he could get to his feet something hit him between his shoulder blades and he sailed across the room. His knee landed hard on the stone hearth of a fireplace. He knew it was no time to make jokes, but he thought to himself, 'I'm gonna feel that in the morning.' This time he chose to play possum and try to draw out whoever was attacking him. He lay still, listening for footsteps. Anything at all, but, nothing. After some time passed, he decided his attacker had chosen to either leave or not fall for the possum-trick. He stood up slowly, monitoring his surroundings as he did so. He had to use the mantel of the fireplace to keep from falling. It turned out his knee didn't need to wait until morning after all, it hurt like hell now.

He looked around and saw no sign of anyone. There wasn't even a sign of a struggle. All the furniture remained exactly where it was. If Nick hadn't been the victim, he'd have thought nothing had transpired here tonight at all. Then he remembered, there was the door that was forced open.

Nick reached into his coat pocket and took out his phone. He needed to call for backup. As he worked the screen, he attempted to hobble to the couch. He only made it a step before something collided with him from behind. In the half second it took for Nick to fall forward and hit his head on the floor, connecting at nearly the same exact spot that his temple had collided with the stairs, he thought to himself that it was impossible for anyone to have hit him that hard and that fast from a room he'd only just verified with his own eyes was empty not a second before.

It's possible Nick had lost consciousness momentarily from the last blow to his head, he couldn't be sure. But as he stood up again to try to defend himself, he again saw no one around him. His phone was missing, his gun was missing, the flashlight however, was still under the couch.

Then from behind him he heard, "So, this is the famous Nick Burkhardt. Or is Nick short for Nicholas?"

Nick turned his head first, as that was much easier from the pain he was experiencing than turning his whole body. His back and knee were in bad shape. As Nick attempted to turn the rest of himself around to face his attacker the voice continued, "You'll probably be pissing blood for a few days, but you'll live."

Nick asked, "So, you're Charles Spencer?"

Spencer wasn't much taller than Nick, but underneath the jeans and the hoodie, Nick could tell that Spencer was lean. His hair and beard, though longer and scragglier, was much like the picture Nick had on his phone, black with a lot of gray peppered throughout. The room was dark but Nick could make out his face through the distorted light that spilled out from underneath the couch. Spencer lifted an eyebrow and said, "Oh, so you've heard of me? I guess that's not surprising. But please," his eyes widened as he smiled and said, "call me Charlie."

Nick took a limping step forward, every passing moment made him realize his knee was in worse shape than he had thought just the moment before. "Well, Charlie. Can I ask, why the hostility?"

Charlie's smile faded away and he said, "You know, when I came to Portland, I figured it might be kinda fun to tussle with you for a round or two. See what you got. Nothing drastic. Just all in fun. But then, I started to get the impression that you're not quite the Grimm I thought you were. I left you that wallet on purpose. Thought you'd beat me to the kill. After all, you have a car and I'm on foot. I had no idea if anyone lived here other than that Zachary guy, but I played the odds and lo and behold there's a woman living here. Is it his wife?" He pointed towards the kitchen, "Found a stack of mail in there with Samantha's name on them."

His face turned more serious as he said, "I looked around and I'm pretty sure that the Samantha lady is still alive and kicking. Now, why would that be? You gonna tell me she didn't Woge when you told her that her husband died?"

Nick was about to respond but Charlie cut him off, "Shut up, I'm not finished yet. So, I figure, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, just maybe, you're coming back tonight. Take care of her when your detective, buddy, partner, guy isn't with you. That would make sense. So, I sat back. I mean, I knew she wasn't home, but did you know she wasn't home?"

Charlie clenched a fist, "Then you called her name. That's when I knew. Maybe you expected her to be here, maybe you didn't. But you weren't here to kill her. So, tell me, traitor, why'd you let her live?" The anger didn't leave his face but the tone of his voice changed to that of near friendly when he said, "Okay, I'm done now, you can talk."

Nick took a breath. He was sore, but he was beginning to get a second wind. To buy more time he attempted to keep the conversation going, "You mean kill a person who hasn't done anything wrong? That's what you wanted me to do?"

Charlie spat on the floor, "Person? It ain't no person! It's a thing. I can't even call it an animal cause at least animals are good for something. You can train 'em or eat 'em."

This time Nick successfully interrupted, "Was it you that killed the skater and that guy at the bar?"

Charlie sneered at Nick and said, "Maybe. Let me think. Skater rings a bell, but a guy at a bar? Well, which bar? Cause I visited more than one today." He smiled as if to say, 'Sounds like you don't know about all of the ones I've killed.'

Nick felt foolish saying it, but with as much authority as he could he said, "In that case, I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of..."

Charlie laughed. A loud, hard, belly laugh and smiled at Nick as though he were in on the joke. "That's good. Like you could arrest me. Besides, that wasn't murder! That was extermination."

Nick took another step forward, this time with every intent of grabbing Charlie and subduing him on the ground as best he could. His knee thankfully didn't give way. But Charlie pivoted and was behind Nick before he knew it had happened. Charlie reached down and grabbed the shin of Nick's good leg and yanked backward on it hard. Nick's jaw collided with the hardwood floor with devastating effect. For a moment his vision was filled with bright colors and swirls.

Nick attempted to sweep his good leg out at Charlie's, but Charlie easily avoided the blows. Charlie stomped on Nick's good ankle and his ankle made a violent crunching sound, Nick yelled out in pain. Charlie reared back and kicked Nick in his chest and gut multiple times, too many times. Nick was gasping for air. As he lay on the floor unable to stand, barely able to breathe, he looked up and saw Charlie holding Nick's cell phone. He said, "I'll be honest with you, I don't know where the gun slid off to. It's probably under the couch with the flashlight." He dropped the cell phone so that it should have landed directly on Nick's face but Nick managed to catch it with his Grimm reflexes, for all the good that did him. Once the phone was in his hands and it was out of his field of vision, he barely caught a glimpse at the heel of Charlie's shoe coming down directly onto his face. It would be hours before Nick woke again.