Chapter 7

In a matter of minutes, Captain Renard had pulled every cop in the building outside. His sunglasses shielded his eyes as he held up a beautiful picture of Elisa. Monroe cringed, looking away from her picture. Nick placed a hand on Monroe's shoulder, trying to keep calm with him.

"Elisa Burkhardt, related to one of our very own." Renard looked at Nick, pressing his lips together. "We have no information on what kind of situation she is in at the moment."

Renard held up another picture. "Charles Tackson, newly released convict. Convicted of murder but evidence," He threw the picture down into his own hands. "Destroyed."

Captain Renard ushered Nick up to the front of the crowd of police men and women.

Nick sighed, looking up at everyone. "Now, my cou-… Elisa is very strong, but we don't know what we're up we're up against. We go in cautiously. Our witness has informed us that he has a history of… irrational violence." Nick gave a final nod. "Let's go."

She'd never been one to talk about herself, or her emotions. Maybe it was a day for changes, she thought as she sat in the small closet. It was dark and damp, making her shutter with anticipation. Charles had made sure that she wouldn't run away. He'd pulled a pipe down, allowing a few drops of water to drip onto her arm. She'd pressed hard against the opposite wall, but the closet was so small, the water was still running down her arm. It stung like acid.

She'd bitten her lip so hard that her mouth was now full of blood. An irony taste replaced her sticky, cracking lips, her bottom lip painted red. She'd been holding her own hands for about three hours, praying to anyone who would listen.

Elisa just wanted to see Nick one last time. She wanted to tell him that she was so proud of what he'd become. She wanted to say, 'Don't be disappointed in me, even though I'm unemployed with no friends or family.' She pleaded with Charles to let her write a letter, or make a simple phone call to him. He declined, throwing her into the closet hard.

Her toes had gone numb, seeing as she'd been kidnapped in short pajama bottoms and a t-shirt in the dead of winter in Portland. She wrapped her own hands around them, making sure they didn't get frost bite. She wanted to be in one piece for her funeral.

Suddenly, the door swung open and sunlight poured in, blinding Elisa. Charles pulled her up harshly and smacked her cheek hard.

"Don't say a word!" He pulled her into a head-lock position and pressed a knife to her neck.

A round of SWAT teams and police pulled up to the house, lights and sirens blaring. Slowly, neighbors walked out of their homes, faces gapped open in horror as they SWAT jumped out the back of their van.

Captain Renard opened his door and walked out with a blow horn.

"Charles Tackson, this is the Portland Police Department! Come out with your hands up!"

Nick and Eddie jumped out of their car, running behind Renard as the SWAT team inched closer to the house. Suddenly, the door opened and guns went into ready-position.

"I've got her!" Charles walked out cautiously, one hand around Elisa's chest and another holding a sharp, long knife up to her neck.

Nick saw his face turn, just as Monroe did, into a Hombriden. Slowly, Monroe's eyes turned darkly to red. Nick looked over. He placed a hand on Eddie's shoulder, trying to keep him from attacking Charles.

"He's still got her. Just wait." Nick whispered.

Elisa's tears ran down quietly and slowly, as she pressed her lips together and Charles pressed the knife into her neck. For what seemed like hours, everyone just stood, waiting, until Renard pressed the speaker button once again.

"Come on, Tackson! We've got you surrounded. Let the girl go."

Charles harshly pressed harder down on Elisa and smiled manically. "She deserves to die! It'll end the war and Gane'll keep me alive!"

Renard's face didn't turn from the stone it'd become. "Let the girl go, Charles."

"Like that'll happen!" Charles laughed, hastily pushing Elisa and himself closer to the SWAT team.

Monroe put a hand on Captain Renard's shoulder, a plea in his eyes. "Let me talk to him."

Renard looked at Eddie for a moment and nodded, handing him the blow-horn. Monroe pressed the button, holding his breath as he held up his free hand slightly.

"Please don't do this. Her cousin," Monroe pointed towards Nick, whose gun had gone up in his steady hands. "He needs her. You know Gatans. They aren't apart of this war."

Charles laughed, the knife pressing harder into Elisa's skin. "I'm not stupid, Blutbad. She's a Grimm. I could smell her from a mile away."

Elisa closed her eyes, a bit of blood trickling down her collar bone. Monroe's eyes stayed steady on Elisa as she pressed her shaking hands together. Slowly, he pressed the speaker button, pulling the horn up to his gapped open mouth.

"Elisa." Monroe said quietly towards her. Her eyes opened slowly, becoming planted on Eddie.

"I'm still her, Ed. Not going anywhere so easily." She whispered slightly.

Charles pressed the knife down harder. "I told you not to speak!"

Monroe shook his head. "It's my fault. I should have protected you."

Elisa mouthed the word no. Her eyes went to Nick, who was now trying to fight back tears as his gun shook shaking in the air.

More quietly than before, she said, "I love you Nicky."

A tear fell from Nick's eye as they tried to keep steady on her gray ones.

Charles laughed, then screamed, "Der König der Schnitter ist zurück!"

With a final breath, Charles pulled the knife around Elisa neck. She fell to the ground with a thump.

"No!" Nick screamed with the breath he'd been holding for those ten minutes.

The next thing that was heard was a single gunshot. With that, Charles Tacksone fell to the ground, dead.

The blow horn to the damp concrete as ten people ran towards the body of Elisa Burkhardt. Nick was the first to pick her up, holding her in his arms as the paramedics tried to treat her. He buried his head in her long, bloody, blond hair. The paramedics tried to push him off, but Eddie had to pull Nick back up, pulling his hands behind his back as he watched the paramedics give Elisa CPR.

Nick fell onto his knees, Monroe catching him in his arms. Nick buried his head in his hands, screaming and crying hard as Monroe just shielded him from his cousin. Monroe watched as Elisa coughed on her own blood, thrashing up in pain. He couldn't look away from the horrible scene. If she was going to die, he was going to force himself to watch.

The paramedics rolled her into the ambulance faster than anything Monroe had ever seen. Nick tried to join Elisa inside, but from the scene that had just unfolded, Captain Renard had determined Nick unfit to be in the same car as his cousin right now.

Captain Renard took Nick from Eddie, placing him in the back of a Police car that was headed for the hospital. Monroe just stood as everything moved slowly.

He watched the ambulance drive around the corner, then looked on as a coroner zipped up a body bag containing Charles Tackson.

For the first time in five years, a tear rolled down Eddie's cheek.

Just had to write this today! Hope you guys liked it! Please review. Also, just wanted you all to know that 'Der König der Schnitter ist zurück' translates from German to 'The King of the Reapers has returned'. Thanks!