"What?" Captain Renard flipped open a notepad and began furiously scratching out details. A minute later he ripped a page out of his notebook. "Don't go anywhere. Lock the door. Don't open unless you're sure it's me. Parce que je vais parler en français comme un dieu foutant! Pardon, pardon. Je serai là en quelques minutes."
He stood up and stopped himself just inside his office door. Why was he so angry? This kind of thing happened all the time? He'd solved numerous stalking cases before. It was just part of the job. He took a deep breath and exited somewhat more calmly.
"Burkhardt, Griffin. Are you busy?"
The looked up from the computer. "Um... actually—"
"Good. Meet me at Romanaggi Hall at the University of Portland." He threw on his coat. "I just got a call from our interpreter friend. She's been followed all week and her office is being watched. "
He stalked out before they could answer, patently ignoring the looks that passed between his detectives.
A soft tap sounded on the door.
"Madmoiselle Mira, êtes-vous là? Il est Renard . Les hommes sont partis. Puis-je entrer?"
"Êtes-vous sûr? Comment est Charlie?" Mira replied. She heard a soft and surprised laugh on the other side of the door.
"Charlie se repose sous un arbre d'érable à Leon pendant vingt ans."
She opened the door. "You're sure they're gone?"
He stepped into her office and she closed the door again.
"There's no one in the quad or near this building matching your descriptions, or acting at all suspicious. They could be in another building though, or they could come back. Do you have any more classes today?"
"No," she replied, crossing over to the desk. "Just grading today."
"And you have no idea who they are?" he asked stepping up to the other side of the desk.
She shook her head. "I could describe them, but I've never met them before so I don't have any names. Though…." She frowned. No. It couldn't be. "Now that I think about it one of them did look a bit like that guy from the park last Saturday."
"Bill Weisman? The one who attacked Mrs. Sanchez? Was it the same man?"
Mira shook her head again. "No. I don't think so. But maybe a relative?" Great, more wesen trouble. This was what she got for coming to a big city.
Renard glanced at his watch. "I'll look into it. It's getting late. We should get you out of here. I suggest you book a hotel for the night. We can escort you to your car and follow you there to make sure you're safe. I do not recommend that you go home."
Mira nodded. She started packing a bag with books and papers. "And what about tomorrow?"
"I can assign an officer to escort you wherever you need to go."
Mira sighed. This was not what she had hoped for. "Sean—Captain Renard, I have no objection to a body guard, but eventually you will need your officers for a real case not a what-if case. If these guys are smart they'll just wait you out. What happens long term?"
He stood there looking at her for a moment. "The only solution I can think of involves using you as bait. Probably tonight before they know we're onto them."
She took a deep breath. "You mean something like me heading for my car and you guys trailing far enough behind that it looks like I'm alone to see if they start following me?"
He nodded. "Precisely."
She took another deep breath. With some back up she was confident she would survive any attack, no matter what these goons actually were. Her worry was whether or not her secret would remain intact. What if the goons woged? How would Sean and his team react? Could they handle a group of wesen without her having to step in?
But the real question was if any other options were viable. She was coming up empty in that regard.
"Alright. Let's do it."
"Are you sure?"
"Just tonight on the way to the car. If nothing happens then we'll figure something else out."
Renard pulled out his phone but paused before placing the call. "For your sake I hope nothing does happen."
He stepped outside and pulled the door to, but not fully closed. She knew he meant it to be a private conversation, but with her hearing he might as well have been talking in her ear.
"Burkhardt, is Griffin with you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. We're going to try to draw them out."
"Ooookay."
"She's getting her things; then she'll head to her car. I'll trail straight behind, you two flank on either side."
"Sir, are you going to tell us what this is about? What are we dealing with?"
"I'm not sure. Be ready for anything?"
"Wesen anything or regular anything?" Wesen?! They knew about wesen? A million questions flooded Mira's brain and she was suddenly wishing very strongly that she had not called Sean.
"It's possible this could be connected to the attack in the park last weekend. Ms. Spiegel was our 911 caller and only witness."
"The park? That Skalingeck that was practically taken apart?"
"It's possible one of our suspects here is related."
"So, wesen anything."
"Stay sharp." Renard said, and hung up.
Mira whirled to the window knowing her panic would show if he saw her face.
"Alright. My team is ready."
Mira took a deep breath. Think! He knows about wesen and so does his team. He threw the cops off my trail at the park: intentional? Maybe. Trap? Possibly. Can I trust him? Was he wesen, or his team? What if one of them was a Grimm? That would be fitting for a police officer. He was so refined: what if he was…worse.
"Are you alright?" he said in French.
One problem at a time. Play this one out. See where it goes. Mira turned around, grabbing a last stack of papers and her purse.
"Oui. I'm just… fighting the lizard brain."
Renard frowned. "'The lizard brain?'"
"You know," she tried to smile, "fight or flight. Panic or solution. I just need to get out of here."
"Then let's go."
He led the way down to the main floor from her office. She found herself using every ounce of self-control not to panic. With this new twist she was—disappointingly—far more afraid of this police captain than the men outside. She was pretty confident she'd have survived their attacks. Most likely they were more Skalingecks. She had been so worried about her damn secret and now she'd potentially put that in far more danger than if she'd just followed her instincts. Just inside the front doors Renard motioned for her to stop and he made a call.
"Burkhardt," the other person said.
"We're in position. Are you set?"
"Yes, sir," came the enthusiastic reply. "Hank is by the corner of the library. I'm across the quad. If anyone comes after her we'll see them."
"Good," Renard replied. He looked at Mira. "Here she comes." He hung up. "Whenever you're ready. I'll be close behind you. Don't be surprised if I veer off a time or two. Just to make it look natural. Go straight to your car. No side trips. "
She nodded a few times. "Let's do this."
Renard was doing a very good job of not looking like he was following her. He was pretending to be on the phone a lot. She pulled a knit hat out of her bag and jammed it on. After years of practice a partial woge was easy and with the hat no one would notice her ears changing. Ah, as she suspected. There was no one on the phone with Renard. All an act. How sweet, he was pretending to talk to his mother.
She headed more or less straight towards her car. It had never seemed so far away. A fair number of students were still out in the quad, though most were on their way somewhere and not lingering. It was getting rather late and twilight had settled in.
Mira tried to look like a distracted victim. Normally this would be completely against her nature, which was to radiate confidence that belied her petite stature, but it came easily with as much concentration as she was putting into sorting through all the sounds she could hear. First she had to sort through all the student chatter, the squirrels and crows, and such. She was pretty sure she had picked out the footsteps of Renard's "team."
Behind her she heard Renard's phone ring. She hoped no one noticed it ringing in the middle of a sentence. He was far enough back that she couldn't hear the other speaker.
"How many? Seven?! Have they seen you? Hank? Merde!"
He started walking faster. She slowed down but kept walking. She stepped off the side walk onto the asphalt of the parking lot and looked up. Without thinking she shifted her partial woge, letting her ears return to normal and her eyes take on subtle changes. Though her car was four rows ahead she could clearly see three figures standing around it. A quick glance showed her three more scattered around the lot. That was at least six, but Renard had said seven. There must be another one somewhere. Seven wesen against three men, one of whom she cared about rather a lot she was surprised to realize, even though she wasn't sure anymore if he was safe to be with.
This was going to get out of hand. A shadow walked briskly out of the shadows on the right.
"…be careful!" Renard said, now close enough for her to hear normally. He sounded only slightly worried. She heard him hang up just as the new figure walked through a streetlight.
"Hank!" It was Detective Burkhardt. He was heading straight for her car. Two of the figures by the car turned towards the detective. The third turned the other way towards a disturbance near one of the other buildings. The last three all stepped out into the parking lot, most heading towards her.
The numbers were too uneven. She would have to fight if they were going to survive. Three cops didn't stand a chance against seven wesen. Was that detective pulling out a crossbow? Irrelevant. She couldn't fight here. Not in the open and certainly not in front of these men.
Her woge shifted. Her eye sight blurred somewhat and her legs… changed. She could no longer see what Burkhardt was doing, though it was hard to miss the two wesen running towards him. She dropped her bag and sprinted left.
"Mira! Wait!" Renard called but she was already gone. Though she couldn't hear them she could sense that she was being followed. She hoped Renard and the others would be okay. Most of the wesen would follow her, hopefully. She was the one they were after.
She rounded a corner and a figure lunged at her. There's number seven, she thought dodging around his clumsy swings. She hamstrung his right leg as she wove past and kept running. That's my trusty pocket knife she thought, sheathing razor sharp finger nails.
A blow to the shoulder knocked her off her feet. Her left elbow hit hard, but she rolled back up and spat in the face of the Skalingeck looming over her. He fell back screaming and holding his eyes. Well, he wouldn't have those for long. And the out-of-date black market pepper spray. She felt the acid glands fade away inside her mouth.
She kept running. Rounding the corner of St Mary's she saw a scuffle ahead. Not even waiting to register who it was she veered to the right. Two more figures ran in from the side. There are way more than seven, she realized. They leaped to tackle her. She ducked then reached out with both hands, barely touching each of them and sending massive electrical shocks. Taser. I need to pick up a Taser.
Just as she leapt up three more figures rounded the other corner of the chapel. She looked back and two more were racing up from behind. They were too close! She fled into the chapel.
She had been in here once, shortly after joining the university. It was a beautiful building, though rather modern for her tastes. She fled through the sanctuary and out a back door, looking for a place to hide. She only had seconds, and they would catch her. She ducked into an open door, vaguely registering it as a small library and realized she'd made a wrong turn. There was no exit. Wait! Window!
Her skin rippled and then her scream shattered the glass. She grabbed the frame to climb out ignoring the shards digging into her pam. But she couldn't ignore the hand that grabbed her arm and flung her back into the room and against a desk. Her head hit rather hard.
"Gotcha!" growled a keep voice.
Hundjager. Klaustrike. Three Skalingecks. Shit. She slid to a crouch looking up at the figures looming over her.
One of the Skalingeck s hissed. "You're going to regret messing with my brother."
"What is this?" she said. "Some kind of gang? Since when to Klaustrikes help skulking Skalingecks." The Klaustrike rolled his shoulder and growled. "And maybe your brother shouldn't mess with innocent women," she spat.
"Innocent?!" One of the other Skalingecks hissed. "You know nothing about it."
She started to stand but the Hundjager kicked her before she moved two inches. Gosh, she hoped that didn't crack a tooth. Bones were a lot harder to heal than flesh wounds.
"Enough," said a commanding voice from the doorway. The wesen turned and Mira looked up to see Captain Renard standing in the doorway. He didn't seem the least disturbed by five wesen in full woge.
Shit! What is he doing! The idiot is going to get himself killed right in front of me!
"I am willing to make you all an offer, which I will only extend once." He calmly peeled off his coat, which looked like it had a few rips in it. "Walk away, right now."
"Or what?" said the Klaustrike, stepping forward. "You're going to arrest us?" he mocked.
Renard unbuttoned his cuffs. "Ms Spiegel, I suggest you close your eyes."
But of course, she couldn't. She had to help, she couldn't just—oh, God!
Renard straightened up, shaking away the beast inside. He took a few deep breaths. His suit was ruined, of course.
A rustling made him look over. Mira was standing up. She was favoring her right leg and clutching her left elbow. There was blood smeared on her hands and face but he didn't know whose. Worse though was that she was staring at him wide eyed and knowingly. He sighed, feeling any chance of a future with her slipping away…
"You are injured," he said.
"I'll be alright. It'll heal," she replied. Her voice sounded rather hollow. "How did you find me?"
"I saw them enter the chapel, and then I heard a scream."
She nodded. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He took another deep breath. "You have good instincts. I was afraid you were going to walk straight into them. I tried to catch up with you without tipping them off."
She sighed. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this. It was much bigger than I thought."
"Then it's a good thing you did drag me into it." He was wondering how to tackle the elephant in the room.
"What story will you tell?" she said instead.
Not the question he was expecting. "I'll think of something. Probably a gang war."
She nodded. "That would do it."
There was a long silence.
"So—"
"So—"
"Go ahead," Mira said.
"No, please," Renard insisted. Most humans were deeply unsettled by a zauberbeist woge; he would rather let her start this conversation.
Mira let it sit a moment to make sure he was serious. She cleared her throat. "You're Zauberbeist."
Renard blinked. How did she know that word? He'd expected something along the lines of 'zombie.'
"Yes," he said with forced calm.
"I confess I did not see that one coming, "she finished.
"Nor I," he added. He thought furiously. What all had he told her over the past weeks? She recognized his type but was surprised, or at least feigning surprise. "Clearly we have underestimated each other.'
"Clearly," she echoed.
"You know about wesen." He said it calmly, like a card play.
She nodded.
He looked away then back, bringing his hands to rest on his hips. "How?"
She shook her head. In fact her whole body shook. How much blood had she lost anyway? She licked her lips. The poor woman looked frightened half to death.
"I can see you're not a Grimm." He went on. "Though that would have made sense with that trail of injuries you left outside. Did you know a Grimm? Are you a wesen?"
Again she shook her head and swayed. Far away in the chapel they could hear Burkhardt calling for Renard.
Renard stepped towards her. "Mira, tell me what's going on. Why are these men after you? It can't just be because you made a 911 call."
She swayed again and he held her shoulders, bending down to look into her eyes. "Please, Mira. I need to know."
A tear rolled down her cheek. "I... I can't… it's so, SO complicated. I need to think. I have to know if it's safe. If you are safe."
He frowned. "What do you mean, 'If I am safe?' Are you saying I'm in danger somehow? From who?"
Again she shook her head as though it were all too much. "No, not that. I meant… " She looked up at him. "I need to know if you are safe for me. If I can trust you."
He straightened up.
She continued. "It may be best if we… forget it. Forget everything."
She straightened and moved to step past him but almost fell, grabbing his arm for balance.
"We need to get you to a hospital. We can talk about this later."
"No hospitals," she said, breathing heavily. "I'll be fine, just take me home."
Footsteps ran up from the hallway. "Sir! Are you alright," Nick didn't even glance at the bodies on the floor.
"Damn!" said Hank, walking in behind Nick.
"I'm fine," said Renard. "But she needs a hospital."
"No!" she said, firmly. "No hospitals. No doctors. Just take me home." She nearly fainted then.
Renard scooped her up.
"Call Rosalie. She needs help."
###
Renard carefully strapped Mira into the back seat of his car, lying down. On the way to the shop he went over again every conversation they'd had, everything he has learned from her background. There had been no hints that he could pick up about how she was connected to the—what the hell?
A blue shimmery light flooded through the car interior, like a light shining from deep under water. He glanced back. He couldn't see her face; she was laying the wrong way. But her skin was glowing and rippling.
He drove faster.