A/N: 1. Many, many thanks again to Merlyn Pyndragon who's doing an awesome job betaing!

2. I tried to find at least one person who could explain to me the dimensions and proportions of Vienna, as I've never been there in my life. I didn't find anyone so I had to research via internet with different (touristic and promotion) sites and different maps and traffic schedules to make something somehow halfway believable. But I didn't find anything on the opera about the inside. Maybe my fault, I don't know, maybe I didn't find the right sites. I tried my best to describe as vague as possible, limiting everything down to an average. I really hope you don't mind me - and if someone is reading this who has beento Vienna or (even better) lives in the area, I would be really pleased to be able to fill my blanks about the city.


The way to Eric's loge at the opera was a challenge on its own. Nick swore he'd never seen so many Wesen in one place than what he saw here. And all of them seemed ... different from the ones he knew. Not that he wouldn't recognize the species, no, but there was something about them that separated them from the Wesen in Portland.

No, not completely, he corrected while Eric shook hands with a Lowen, who was eyeing Nick with envy. The Lowen reminded him a bit of Donald Nidaria, the Lowen who killed his own wife and sought his freedom by hiring the Ziegevolk-lawyer Barry Kelogg. One of the best days in his life was when he, Hank, Monroe, Bud and Rosalee put an end to Kelogg's fraudulent career forever.

But something was different about these Wesen. Nick couldn't lay his hands on it completely. Just like Nidaria, this Lowen seemed more self-confident, more powerful.

Eric left the Lowen, who was still watching Nick, and Nick had to follow the Royal as fast as he could. This was his duty as a bodyguard. He had to watch over Eric. This seemed somewhat ridiculous because Eric hadn't given him a gun or any other weapon. And Nick was more than aware of Hans and Franz, both in dark suits and never out of sight, who were watching over him. Plus there was a dozen Hundjaegers out there, guarding the opera.

Nick had an idea why there was such a high level of security. He noticed there were several entrances to this building, with two main entrances down in the hall. The opera wasn't only built for performances; there also were several floors above them. He didn't know if they were still used, but they would definitely make good hideouts for anyone trying to get out of here. And outside the building there was a huge open space with different stops for buses and streetcars, as well as an entrance to the metro, some parking spots for cars and a taxi stand. True, the opera was in the middle of what Eric called "Old Town", and there were different routes out Nick had spotted on the short distance between the car and the entrance. No wonder that Eric had ordered as much guards as possible to watch tonight. This was not only the premiere of the new season for the opera, it also was supposed to be Nick's proof of loyalty.

When they finally arrived at Eric's private loge Nick was more than relieved to have it made so far. That the Severins were around somewhere in this building made him nervous. But he hoped Christian's plan would work.

The little key inside his pocket reminded him that, from now on, not only his own life was at stake. If Eric found the key, Nick was sure he would know that it was Christian who took it from wherever he found it.

The loge was bigger than expected, appointed with a dozen armchairs with heavy, carved armrests and chair legs, painted golden while the covers were made from red velvet. In the back Nick also spotted a small tea cart with glasses and bottles and a champagne bucket near a hidden door.

Eric and Nick were the only persons in here, and Nick really hoped there wouldn't be too many people around later, as the loge was surely the biggest but also, for his personal taste, a little small. He wouldn't like too many people in here.

Eric placed one of the chairs near the balustrade and looked down to the stage.

"Your premiere as my new head of security is pretty impressive, huh?" the Royal asked after a while.

Rustling, coughing and moving noises came from the auditorium.

Nick shrugged. "I don't think I made such an impression. It is more that you've brought a small army to watch over me, I guess," he answered.

Eric grinned. "I would chain you to the wall in here if it were possible, my sweet Grimm," he answered. "As long as I don't have the evidence of your loyalty, I fear you have to live with this army watching over you. I don't want to lose you."

"I got the impression," Nick answered and put his hands inside the pockets of his trousers. "And I am supposed to give you evidence tonight, right? Do you want to watch how I kill Adalind? Am I supposed to give you her head or heart or whatever other body part you prefer?"

Eric snickered. "Still snarky, my sweet Grimm. But no, I don't want you to do it in here. I am pretty sure there will be a possibility for you to kill her, all quiet and fast. I know, you would probably prefer to make her suffer after all she did to you. But I fear we don't have the time in here. So, make it quick, but be sure that her body will be found tonight. And, I don't have to mention that you'd better not leave any evidence there, right?"

"Don't you control the police? That's surprising!" Nick lifted his eyebrows.

A knock on the door behind him made him turn around.

One of the clerks opened the door and bowed his head. "Your highness, I was sent to ask for a minute of your time. Ambassador Hwung is requesting a word."

Eric rolled his eyes and went passed Nick. "You stay here," he ordered to no one in particular.

Nick saw a shoulder of one of the Severins appearing near the door. So, he was also watching in here and still a prisoner.

Eric left the loge and closed the door, leaving Nick alone.

Nick listened for a moment, but the noises from the auditorium were too loud to get a clear picture of what was possibly awaiting him on the other side of the door. So he finally decided to walk over to the balustrade and take a look around.

The theater was pretty impressive, he had to confess, with all the details the builders had done. The stage was still hidden behind a curtain, the orchestra already in place. He could see single musicians working on their instruments, tuning or cleaning mouth pieces. Some of them were reading sheets.

The auditorium was a huge movement in all. Nick looked a bit closer in hope to get a first glimpse of his soon-to-be partner. But there were so many blond women in dark or black dresses he couldn't figure out which one it might be.

A door behind him opened. It sounded different from the main door, so it had to be the hidden one.

Nick turned around and saw a man coming out of the shadows, wearing jeans and a shirt. When he saw Nick turning to him he woged nervously and showed his Wesen side to Nick: a Luisant-Pecheur, an otterlike Wesen.

Nick remembered Anton Cole, an artist and Luisant-Pecheur, who had been completely under the influence of a Musai Nick had also nearly fallen for.

"You are the Grimm," the Wesen said in a heavy accent.

Nick nodded. "And you are Dirk, Christian's friend, right?" he asked.

The Luisant-Pecheur smiled nervously. "I am. I'm here to help you and your partner out of here."

Nick lifted his eyebrows again. "So, she is already here?" he asked.

Dirk shook his head. "I thought she would, but..." He looked around. "She's not here, it seems."

Nick frowned, a glimpse a suspicion growing in his mind.

Dirk came hesitantly closer and offered Nick a key-ring. "I've filled the tank and the trunk. There should be enough food and water for you two to make it to the airport. You need refills on the way but there are several gas stations between Vienna and Italy, so that shouldn't be any problem. Keep your heads down. And for here it probably would be better if she changed her hair color. But I will ..."

The door to the walk outside opened and a small blond woman, dressed in a black gown and carrying a black weekender over one of her shoulders, entered the loge.

Nick's mouth fell open.

He didn't know before how he would react to seeing her again. He never expected to feel so much anger inside him, boiling from the bottom of his heart. His eyes turned hard, the muscles in his cheeks jumped and he clenched his jaws together to stop himself from screaming at her.

Dirk, on the other side, started to smile. "Oh, here she is!" he said friendly, looking at her. "May I introduce? Nick Burkhardt, this is Adalind Schade. You two are supposed to flee together tonight."


Adalind had been through much during the past few days. Abducted by Stefania and held under a spell, she barely remembered what happened to her before she woke up sitting on that ottoman in the tent the other night. And the walk back into civilization with Christian at her side could probably have turned out as a little romantic, if Christian hadn't wanted her to hurry and had kept looking over his shoulder every other second, gun in hand.

All she wanted now was finally to get out of this whole situation before she got killed or worse. And when Christian told her about the plan, the parked car, Italy and the flight to Marrakesch, and that she would have another escapee at her side, she was more than relieved.

Maybe, so she thought now, maybe she should have been more suspicious after Christian said her partner would be a Grimm. But, seriously, there were more Grimm on this planet than only her personal nightmare Nick Burkhardt!

And now she stood opposite to said Nick Burkhardt, who was staring at her as though he was about to chop off her head! And this other man, Christian had called him his friend, eyed them both with confusion.

"I suppose you two know each other?" he asked.

Nick nodded, muscles in his cheeks working and a cold glint in his eyes.

"Sorry, but where is Christian?" Adalind asked. "There is a huge no-go just in front of me."

The stranger nodded. "So, I take that as a yes."

"This man killed my mother!" Adalind pointed with one finger at Nick.

"I didn't!" he said. "But I wish I did!"

"Oh, yes, I can see that. It's been a year now since she was murdered. What about your awesome ability in solving crimes, huh?" Adalind asked

"What about your attempt to kill my aunt? Or Hank? Or what you did to Juliette?" Nick asked. Lifting his shoulders he suddenly seemed to grow a few inches.

"I followed orders!" Adalind claimed.

"Oh, and I should feel inspired by your work to look deeper into your mother's file then, I suppose?"

The stranger lifted his hands. "Just ... I got it. You two have a difficult past," he said.

"Difficult?" Adalind sized Nick from head to toe. "Yeah, you could go there. And that's why I need to talk to Christian."

"Impossible tonight, I fear. Christian is bound to the castle," Dirk said. "Look, you two have your new passports and you have your tickets. If you cannot go together then ... split up at one point and try yourself. Maybe better than what we had planned."
"I am not going anywhere with him! He will kill me!" Adalind said.

Nick lifted his eyebrows in feigned surprise. "Really? You already know what Eric wants from me?" he asked.

Adalind startled. "What?"

Looking closer at Nick, she noticed the bitter lines around his lips, a glimpse of something in his eyes she'd never seen before. And ... wasn't he thinner than she remembered? A lot thinner?

"You don't want to go with me? That's more than fine with me," he told her. "I can't await to leave, but not with you on my side. You, who will betray me the very first moment you see a chance."

"I am sorry, but we don't have other options," the stranger interrupted. And finally Nick reacted to him, turning his head.

"This is the only possible attempt you two have. The Grimm is right, Miss Schade, his order is to kill you tonight. Eric knows about your condition. And he will do everything to bring the Grimm under his control, and kill you. As I've said, you two can split up later. But right now, you have to start together."

"That is ridiculous!" Adalind cried. "You are handing me over to my murderer willingly!"

"I'm not going to kill you – not right now!" Nick told her. "I wish I could, after all the havoc you caused in my life. But right now my priority is to flee. But maybe I will change my mind about one or two things now ..."

The stranger stared at Nick for a moment. "You are not that kind of Grimm," he finally sighed, visibly relieved.

"I'm not going with you!" Adalind repeated, arms folded in front of her and giving Nick a hateful stare.

"I fear you don't have another choice if you are to survive this," the stranger insisted. "So what now? Are you sure?"

Nick glanced at her. His arms were folded in front of him as well.

This friend of Christian's was right. Time was running out for her, she had to go now, not next month.

"Are you in?" Nick wanted to know.

And Adalind really had to grit her teeth before she answered. "For now. Only for now. The moment we leave Vienna, it's over!"

"That fine with me," Nick shrugged, glancing over to Dirk.

The stranger sighed. "Okay, then," he started to explain, "let us go through the plan."


Nick couldn't believe it! He really couldn't. While the music set in and the curtain opened he stood there, near the balustrade as Eric had ordered him, staring at Adalind. Anger was boiling inside him, leaving him with his hands curled into fists. He couldn't take an eye from his blond nemesis.

First she tried to kill Aunt Marie, then she forced Nick into killing the Mellifer-queen, only to later put Hank under a spell, which also inflicted Wu. And finally Adalind poisoned her cat, which scratched Juliette, first putting her into a coma, letting her forget about him and let her finally fall for Renard in the most dangerous way he could think of. And Nick was sure he missed a lot details on this last one – and was good with that he most likely would never find out.

He didn't listen to the music, he didn't care about what was going on on stage. He only stared at Adalind's profile, feeling his emotions slowly boiling higher and higher.

For a moment he really thought he would be able to kill her. For all the harm she brought into his life. Heck, after he found Hank in that deadly sleep in her bed, he was more than ready to kill her off. That he would instead destroy the Wesen inside her, leaving her human body untouched, he never expected. How could he? He hadn't possessed any information about Hexenbiests back then, not more than what he had already found in the old books, and the single chapter Rosalee had shown to him that night. After he came back and told her and Monroe that Adalind, the human, was still alive, they started researching Hexenbiests, but they never found out much. Rosalee said to him months later that she probably had found a remark that Hexenbiests could restore themselves, but that was all.

Adalind was human now, he could sense it. But there was something else coming from her. The baby that grew inside her? Maybe, he thought. But he wasn't sure. Maybe Adalind tried to restore her Wesen, he couldn't tell.

Suddenly she moved from one side to the other, before standing up and whispering something into Eric's ear. Nick's superhearing didn't kick in fast enough, but a look down at the stage told him that the moment of their flight had approached. The soprano stood in the middle of the stage and just started to sing. It should be the last solo before the first act was over.

Nick took a deep breath, watching how Adalind turned around, ignoring him completely, and left the loge.

Eric gazed up to Nick, didn't say a word. Nick nodded and turned to the door.

Outside the loge he found Franz standing, obviously surveilling the hallway. Nick gave the huge Grimm a stare before he followed Adalind, who had just turned around a corner when he left. Franz nodded with a grin.

"Good luck, Shorty!"

Nick gritted his teeth and walked down the hallway. Two strangers were standing and chatting around the corner, giving him a brief glance before they continued.

Nick took a deep breath. He heard his blood rushing in his ears once more as he followed Adalind down the stairs to the main floor. Then, leaving the bar behind, where servants just were finishing the refreshment preparations, he tailed her into a very small hallway to the restrooms. Adalind skipped the women's bathroom and continued to another, smaller door which lead them behind the stage. Nick followed, jogged the last few metres before the door could close on its own and found himself in near darkness. Only a small, green light was shimmering above another door, which had just opened.

Dirk waved them on. "Quick, quick!" He led them through another hallway, which was bare of every decoration except a pin board filled with lists and instructions, to the dressing rooms, where he followed them into one.

A woman was awaiting them there. Looking at Adalind and Nick, she dived into a closet and gave them a change of clothes. Nick looked at his: jeans and a black shirt, just as he would wear every day in Portland.

"They should fit. I need your sizes of shoes," the woman said.

Nick nodded and told her. Dirk showed him where to change. "Quick!" he ordered again. "The solo only lasts eight minutes."

"I'm not wearing this!" Adalind said. A pair of jeans and a shirt, just some sizes smaller than Nick's.

Nick got the money and the passport out of the shoes he was wearing, slipped out of the jacket and loosened the tie with a relieved sigh. It was a waste to get rid of the suit, he had to admit, but it would draw too much attention to them if he wandered out still wearing it.

"We don't have much normal clothing," the woman told Adalind. "You have to wear what I gave to you. I'm sorry."

"I'm not wearing these!" Adalind repeated and changed into German.

Nick lifted his eyebrows, impressed. She could speak very well and pronounced the words like he'd heard from the most people here. Perhaps a talent for foreign languages?

Slipping into the jeans, he realized they didn't fit too well. As fast as he could he got the belt from the trousers and threaded it to the jeans. Dirk put some shoes in front of him as Nick closed the belt.

The jeans were bigger than what he was used to. But for now they would work. Nick put on the shirt, which fitted perfectly, storing money, passport, map, cellphone and the key in the jeans before he finally put on the shoes. Good hiking boots, nearly new as far as he could tell.

Dirk pointed at a bag that was hanging from the mirror Nick was changing behind. "That is from Christian. He said you'd probably want it back," he said, before he turned again at Adalind and continued to discuss with her.

Nick took the bag and opened it. His eyes widened after he found his windbreaker in it. Smelling fresh, it had surely been washed. Nick got the jacket out of the bag and felt once more his eyes burning a bit.

Something from home. Something that was his property.

He was sure Christian had to give the jacket back to him for a purpose. Most likely to return a little bit of himself.

Nick put on the jacket, shivering but with a smile on his face.

Finally Dirk and the woman had talked Adalind into changing her clothes, but she did it slowly and with a comment on everything she was doing.

Nick checked the time.

Eight minutes, and five of them were gone.

How long it would take Eric to notice that he hadn't returned to the loge? He would probably give him a little credit because he was supposed to kill Adalind and do it in a way that her body wouldn't be discovered right away. But time was running short.

Nick was getting nervous. How long did they have?

When the door slammed open to let Franz enter Nick knew they had been too slow ...


Christian wrapped work up for the day after filling out all the paperwork Eric had asked him for.

His heart was beating fast and he felt the rush of adrenaline in his veins looking at the clock.

Now it was time. Now it had started.

He could only hope everything would go well and Nick and Adalind were on their way out of country. Otherwise he couldn't think of what would happen to both of them. Adalind was highly vulnerable as a human without protection. And Nick? God only knew what Eric would do to him if he realized that his new security guard had only pretended to.

Christian rubbed his injured shoulder and went to the kitchen, not expecting to find anybody there. It was late. There was no dinner served tonight because Eric wanted to get out for a late meal after the opera. So the kitchen staff had left early.

To his surprise the lights were on and he heard someone rummaging after he entered the huge kitchen.

Christian frowned and looked around, not really knowing what to expect.

And then he saw it! The door to the small freezer stood wide open, foggy waves of cold air floating into the warm kitchen.

His mouth hung open for a moment.

The mysterious freezer! He'd wanted to find out what Pierre the Zauberbiest had stored in there for weeks!

Now he had a chance to.

Christian ignored the thumping pain in his back and huddled behind the large kitchen tables, trying to get closer to the freezer.

A mumbling told him he wasn't alone here. And a moment later he saw Pierre coming out of the freezer, something in his hand he couldn't make out.

"Get rid of her," the Zauberbiest mumbled to the air. "Don't leave any evidence behind. Yeah, your highness. But I won't do it without getting a little supplies."

Christian frowned again.

Getting rid of whom?

He gazed around a corner, trying to catch a glimpse into the freezer, but couldn't. The icy fog coming from the opened door hid everything that was inside.

"My recipe finally did work," Pierre was still saying to himself. "I could have told them about the mush. But are those idiots listening to what I have to say? I'm only the potion-maker, it's not up to me to decide. But finally it worked!"

Christian bit his lip.

Nick had told him about the mush that the Severins had tried to feed to him. So he was right about it not being only food. But what else could it have been? What was Pierre talking about?

Again Christian peered around the table, watching the Zauberbiest standing there, both hands on the table, head bowed, eyes moving. Reading.

Christian ducked down again, thinking.

He didn't know what exactly happened to Nick before he found him. What Nick had told him gave him the impression that Eric had first tried to put him under a spell. If that was still the plan after Nick gave in, he couldn't tell. The Severins never were seen again in the kitchen to bully someone, and Pierre had suddenly disappeared too. So his guess was that Eric stopped whatever he had planned in the first place. But there still was evidence regarding what he had tried to do.

Pierre was reading a book, grunting about getting rid of something he definitely thought as something rare, and obviously disobeying Eric's orders to get something he wasn't supposed to. The freezer was open!

Christian rubbed his shoulder again.

This was going to be a painful end of his day ...

He crawled to another working station where he'd seen a block with knifes before, and raised carefully to get one before he returned to the corner where he was before. Once more he thought his idea through, but couldn't see another way.

This was the end of his career as a spy, he realized. What he was about to do would terminate his job as private secretary for Eric. The time was already running out after all, with what he'd done during the past weeks, especially after he took the key from the safe. But this would verify he was a traitor. He would have to leave immediately.

Christian had thought he would feel sad but he didn't. He was relieved it was over. He was looking forward to what would be coming up for him now. But first he had a job to finish.

He took another deep breath and raised again, trying to prepare himself for what he was about to do.

"Busy?" he asked, hobbling around the table in Pierre's direction.

The Zauberbiest looked up, staring at him for a moment before he smirked. "What do you want, Maushertz?" he asked, turning away. "Time for your little warm milk, huh? It's best known all over the castle."

"No. Time for some answers," Christian said. "What did you do to Nick Burkhardt?"

Pierre turned around again, and this time he noticed the knife in Christian's hand. Stepping backwards, he woged into his Wesen form.

"Get back, you little traitor! What do you think you are? You are nothing!"

A cold smile lifted the corners of Christian's mouth. "You never understood how the Royal part of a bastard works, right?"

Woging back into a human Pierre stared at him, astonished. "You are not going to kill me. I'm a servant of the prince!"

"Well, I'm a servant of a prince too. Unfortunately my loyalty lies somewhere else." Christian jumped forward, ignoring the pain rushing through his body.

Pierre tried to distract him by throwing his book at him, and after that a salt shaker, but Christian ignored the attempts.

"Don't! Don't!" the Zauberbiest yelled. "Anybody! Murder! Help me!"

Christian approached to him. There was no struggle of any kind. Pierre didn't have time to try to protect himself. The knife was sharp and cut through his flesh, penetrating deep into his body.

The Maushertz was surprised how easy it was, looking into Pierre's eyes while the life left them and the Wesen collapsed slowly forwards, into the knife. One step and Pierre fell to the ground, dead.

Christian took another breath, staring down at the body, before he turned around, just the moment the spirit awoke to leave the dead body it formerly possessed. He heard hateful hissing, claw-like hands trying to catch and scratch him. Christian stepped back. His feet crushed something and he remembered Pierre's lame attempts to protect himself.

Christian, still not shocked about what he'd just done, looked down to the ground. But this time he was terrified after he saw a smashed, separated finger he had just stepped on. A human finger, frozen solid.

Gasping, he looked up, into the open freezer. Still the clouds of icy air from the inside concealed part of what was inside. But from here Christian could finally see what it was, and his face went ashen while he fought down the panic.

He had to go. Now! He had to leave Austria! He had to tell Sean!

With shaking hands he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and took some blurry pictures of the opened freezer's contents. Then he turned around, again ignoring the pain in his injured body.

Pierre's book was lying on the ground not far away from a filled freezer bag.

Christian ignored the bag. Groaning, he leaned forward, got the book and, with a last look over his shoulder, he started into a wobbling run.


Nick was seeing red. The moment he saw Franz storming into the room, saw the woman and Dirk again wogeing in panic and Adalind screaming in shock, all the memories from the past few weeks came back to him.

Franz, ready to punish him right after he woke up. Franz, torturing Klaus to death. Franz, grinning vicious while tormenting him.

Anger took over, together with the realization that this time Nick wasn't weak, injured, poisoned or handcuffed anymore.

"You little bloodtraitor!" roared Franz. His hand was diving into his jacket. "You will pay for this. Even thinking about perfidy brings you back to the torture chamber, Shorty!"

With a deep roar Nick jumped forward, throwing himself against the much taller and much heavier Grimm before he could draw his gun. Franz staggered backwards, hand flailing out to catch his balance.

And Nick's instincts kicked in.

This was no kinsman, this was a villain. This was someone he had to fight to get out of here, to get back to Portland and be a father. This was the enemy he had been waiting to get his hands on for so long now.

He jumped upwards, preparing himself, and hit Franz' chin with his own skull. Again the much taller man stumbled backwards and Nick realized that although Franz was taller, heavier and stronger than he was, he himself was faster and more agile.

With a growl he climbed up to Franz' shoulders, hooking his left arm around the bulky neck. Franz shook himself, trying to grab Nick's arm. Stepping sideways he tried to pin Nick between the wall and his body, but again Nick was faster. Diving underneath the straightened arm he left a personal note by punching Franz' kidney as hard as he could.

The hit had an impact. Franz yelled in pain.

Nick tried another hit and slammed the other Grimm hard in the guts before he got back to his feet.

"Adalind, get ready!" he ordered firmly over his shoulder.

Franz, visibly stricken by the sudden attack of his former victim, holding his stomach and feeling blood on his chin, stared at Nick, cold blooded. "You really think you will get away with this?" he asked and grinned. "Oh, I will enjoy having you back in the chamber, you little bastard! You won't be handsome after I'm done with you, believe me."

"First you have to get me," Nick answered. "And this time, I'm not weak or ill. And this time, it's just the two of us." With that, he lunged, but, spinning on his toes in the very last second, he dived underneath Franz' fist to find himself behind his enemy once more. His elbow slamming into the other kidney, he almost brought Franz to his knees. Then, finally, Franz scored a mark – kicking backwards, he hit Nick's leg hard and knocked him off balance. This time Nick was sent staggering backwards, and Franz was coming for him.

The impact pushed the air out of Nick's lungs, but he was prepared for this. Blocking another hit with his arms he retreated, feeling cloth against his back. A curtain. And in reach there was a rope. Nick seized it, using the power of the next hit by Franz to swing with the rope. Behind the other Grimm, he kicked, still on the rope, with both feet and sent Franz stumbling behind the curtain. Nick let the rope slip through his fingers. He jumped behind the curtain himself, finding Franz there, hand again under his jacket. Nick's fingers closed around the arm. Jerking and pushing to get the gun himself, he didn't recognize where they were.

Bright lights from one side, behind them whispering darkness. Nick didn't spend a second look. Instead he stomped hard on Franz' foot, followed by another, but only half as heavy, push with his elbow again.

Franz grunted, still trying to get his gun out of the holster and free his arm. He was only partly successful with drawing the gun.

An audible yelp from behind the bright lights surprised both for a second, and they realized they had ended up on stage. The soprane, stopping before the end of her solo and staring at them in blank horror, woged into a Fuchsbau.

After the second of realization, the pulling and jerking started again. Franz was a little faster recovering this time, but Nick's fingers didn't let him go. Franz tried to lift the gun, to free his arm with lifting it, but Nick jerked him back. Wrapping his legs around Franz hips he was ready for the final round, getting the gun and out of there.

Screams from the darkness behind the bright lights.

Franz snarled, staring down at Nick.

"You little traitor will so pay for this!"

A cold grin grew on Nick's lips but he didn't answer.

Franz tried to turn the gun in his hand, to point the barrel at Nick. Nick's fingers let his arm go, and instead closed around Franz' holding the gun.

And then there was one single scream: "NO!" Franz was distracted long enough for Nick to wrest the gun from the hand. Flipping backwards, he came back to his feet again. Franz, confused but in full rage, turned to him and started to come at him.

Nick didn't aim. He simply pulled the trigger. And Franz was suddenly staggering back. With his eyes wide in surprise he collapsed to his knees before sinking slowly to one side. Dead.

Nick breathed heavily, slowly stepping closer, the gun still pointed at the other Grimm to make sure he was dead. The Fuchsbau-soprane finally flew from stage, screams and yelling from the auditorium while the audience and orchestra abandoned the theater in panic.

Nick looked up to the left, into the darkness behind the limelights. And for a second he could have sworn he saw Eric's eyes returning his look before the curtain sank down and separated Nick from the hall on the other side.

Dirk ran up to him, panting and woging in panic. "You have to go, NOW!" he yelled to Nick, who was still staring at the point where, on the other side of the curtains, Eric's loge was.

Finally he took a last deep breath and nodded. Turning around his eyes met with Dirk's. "Adalind's ready?"

The otter-like Wesen nodded. "But I fear your fight drew too much attention to the building," he said, following Nick off the stage. "There are Hundjaegers everywhere outside."

Eric had acted fast, but that wasn't a surprise to Nick. He nodded and pushed the gun between the belt and the pants in his back. "We will make it. Don't worry," he said.

Adalind was awaiting him in the hallway.

"We will," Dirk said. "Follow me. We cannot use the stage door right now. There's another, older entrance that's not used anymore."

Adalind was surprisingly quiet now. Nick took her by her arm, and she didn't fight him or the touch. She only looked up to him, astonished and impressed.

Dirk led them through a labyrinth of different passages and small corridors to a rusty old door, secured with a huge padlock, which he opened.

"Listen," Dirk warned them. "As long as you are in the city you must be twice as careful. The little time we had hoped to get you out of here is gone, and the Royals will start a manhunt to get you two." He took a little sheet of paper out of his pocket and gave it to Nick. "These are the names and numbers of some members of the resistance. No one anybody would expect to be part of us. So, be extremely careful with the list."

"We will," Nick nodded and put the paper in his pocket. "Keep your heads down for the near future. Hopefully you will make it, Dirk. And my best wishes to Christian for all his help."

Dirk nodded.

"Thanks," came from Adalind, that was all.

Nick was relieved she didn't start another argument and simply followed him into the dark and dirty room. Obviously an old coal cellar.

Dirk closed the door behind them, leaving them in pitch darkness.

"Wait a second," Adalind whispered. Nick heard her rummaging in her bag. Then a bright finger of light illuminated the room, revealing filth and cobwebs. On the other end he could see a metal ladder, as rusty as the door.

"Move! We have to hurry," Nick ordered and let Adalind take the lead.

"How do we know the door isn't sealed?" she asked over her shoulder.

"We don't," Nick answered. "But I still have bullets in the gun. If it's sealed, we can open it this way or another."

Another shot would bring the Hundjaegers directly to them, and he knew that. But they had to move quickly. With one thing Dirk was right: Eric would send an army to get Nick back. And heavens only knew what he wanted to do with Adalind and her baby.

The ladder was rusty but in good shape. Nick, who regained the lead now, found the door unlocked and was sure it was one of the members of the ensemble who had just opened it. After he left the cellar, Nick found himself in a dark side alley behind the Erstes Haus am Platz. He helped Adalind up before closing the door and pushing the lock closed, in hopes of distracting their followers a little bit.

"Do you know the car?" he asked.

"A VW Polo, Dirk told me." Again rummaging in her bag Adalind pulled out the key.

Nick nodded and took the lead again, careful this time, checking around every corner and listening to his instincts in the effort of getting an early warning.

Blinking lights came from the main street along with a lot of voices. Yelling and the sound of many footsteps.

This didn't sound good ...

Nick gave Adalind a sign and, his back to the wall, drew slowly closer to the main entrance. Looking around the corner, his heart sank. The whole area was flooded with Hundjaegers or men and women he had the strong impression of being Hundjaegers, and maybe other Wesen working for Eric. As far as he could see all the streets leading the opera building were blocked with cars and more men and women in dark suits, obviously wearing guns.

Gritting his teeth, Nick sneaked back to Adalind. There he saw it: the entrance to a subway station!

"What's the matter?" Adalind asked.

Nick shook his head. "There's no way we are getting anywhere near the car. And even if we could, we would never get half a block," he answered. Tilting his head, he looked at her. "Have you ever used the subway here? Do you know the schedules?"

Adalind shook her head. "No, why?"

Nick took a breath.

It was risky; they would have to cross a short distance of open ground. If one or more of those Hundjaegers saw them and put one and one together ... if the subway was closed for the night or they had to wait long for the next train, they would be screwed.

But they would definitely be screwed waiting here until the searchers found them. They didn't have any other choice.

Nick bit his lips and looked down in Adalind's face. "I know you don't trust me, I don't trust you either. But right now we need each other. Will you follow me until we have left Vienna?"

Adalind stared at him, her face in the shadows. He could only see the white shimmer from her eyes. Then she nodded.

"Okay, come with me, no questions, no arguments. We have to move quickly."

"I know," she said.

Nick once more took the lead, Adalind on his heels. Pretending not to be involved or even interested what was going on at the opera house, he stepped out in the streetlight, walking straight to the entrance of the subway station. He only hoped they would get a train down there, and that the forces Eric had sent after them to bring them back to him hadn't thought of controlling the station.

Once on the stairs Nick sped up, Adalind still close behind him. No one seemed to notice them, but they still were in too close in range to feel safe again.

Nick expected a huge underground station like he knew from the big cities in the States. Instead he found a small stop, the walls tiled and decorated with grafiti. Light boxes with posters and a time-schedule. A cash-automat for the tickets.

Nick looked around. There was another entrance down here, with a restroom sign and an arrow pointing in a direction.

Adalind stepped up to the schedule when Nick heard a distant shriek of train breaks, augmented by the cave-like structure of the subway.

He turned around, seeing blinking signs in one of the two tunnels.

So, the last train wasn't so far off, he realized with another relieved sigh.

"It's the last one," Adalind told him. "Should be driving up to the Zentralfriedhof." She looked over her shoulder. "To the graveyard."

Nick's eyebrows lifted. "Sounds like a tour we should make."

Headlights grew quickly in the darkness of the opposite tunnel.

Nick relaxed a little, still being on guard but not on the high alert.

The train drove into the station, the breaks shrieking, drowning every other noise.

But then he heard the scream. Spinning around he saw two morphed Hundjaegers on the stairs, their weapons pointing at them.

"In the train, move!" Nick ordered, pulling Franz' gun out of his belt.

The train stopped, the doors opened painfully slow.

Nick aimed at the Hundjaegers but hesitated to fire. Down here the sound might deafen him. And maybe he didn't have to kill the Wesen, no matter for whom they were working. They weren't his enemies, not as long as they didn't attack.

"Stop!" one of them yelled.

Adalind ran into the train, Nick followed her slowly, aiming still at the Hundjaegers. "Don't do that!" he ordered, shaking his head. "Don't even think about it." From the corner of his eye he noticed a surveillance camera at the ceiling of the station. And suddenly he felt safe. He knew they wouldn't shoot at him, not with a camera viewing the whole scene. Beside the fact that Eric surely wanted him back alive.

Nick entered the train, and when the doors closed right behind him, the train started again.

Another relieved sigh and finally a little smile grew on his lips.

"We did it!"


Eric couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. True, he had suspected Nick would try to flee. Also true, the Severin cousins had done a lot of harm, especially Franz. But this ... this mess? And what the heck happened to Adalind? Nick WAS really pissed to see her, he'd noticed that. And he didn't hesitate to follow her as the order was given to him.

"Your highness, they are gone," a voice told him.

Eric realized that he was still staring at the curtain. The curtain that had fallen after Nick shot Franz and was just aiming at him!

The news slowly sank in.

They? Did that mean ... ?

Eric turned around. "Who's they?" he demanded to know.

Schmidt-Hartung, the Hundjaeger in charge of tonight's security, bowed. "The Grimm and the woman, Adalind Schade, your highness. They flew together."

Eric's lips thinned.

No way Nick or Adalind could have made this up tonight! No way this disaster could have happened without a proper plan. No way they would work together without being persuaded into it!

Who? Who was the traitor that stole his Grimm? Who had planned this? Who had brought Nick and Adalind together and made them work as a team as they surely had done?

"I thought you had closed all entrances to the place after I arrived?" Eric said, calmly and coldly.

Schmidt-Hartung swallowed and kept his head down. "We did. But ... I fear I didn't put the subway into the surveillance."

The subway? They simply took a train out of here?

Heavy footsteps approached from the hallway, then Hans entered the loge, making his way without taking notice of anybody in this way. His hands were bloody and shaking. "He killed him!" he cried. "That little piece of shit killed my cousin!"

Eric, as agitated as he felt, still kept his stony and calm face. His brain was rushing through all possibilities.

"He killed him!" yelled Hans at him.

Eric looked at the remaining Grimm. "I saw that first hand. If the curtain didn't came down he probably would have shot at me too."

A hissing from all attendant Hungjaegers and Koenigsschlangen.

Hans' lips were trembling. "I demand my right to take revenge," he said, trying to keep his voice calm too.

"Denied!" Eric turned again to Schmidt-Hartung. "Find out where they went and search the whole city! I want the Grimm back, alive and unharmed if possible. But alive for sure!"

"As you wish," Schmidt-Hartung bowed again.

"That little bastard killed my cousin! You cannot deny my right!" Hans bellowed.

Eric turned back to him, staring him down. "You are doing what I order! Nick Burkhardt will be caught again, and he will be punished for what he did tonight! But he is too valuable to be killed only for a little bloodthirst. Do you hear me?" he said.

Hans' lips thinned, his face ashen.

"Do you hear me?" Eric repeated.

Trembling and reluctant Hans bowed his head. "Yes, your highness."

"Your family will get compensation for your loss," Eric continued. "And you have my word, Nick Burkhardt won't come out of this unharmed. But we need him alive!" He stepped closer to the huge Grimm. "He's a fullblood. I don't think I have to tell you how rare they are, do I?"

His cellphone began to buzz inside his trousers.

"You can help this incapable idiot of a Hundjaeger and lead the search party," Eric said, pulling the phone out of the pocket.

Hans bowed down again before leaving him.

Eric turned around, again looking down at the closed curtain, accepting the call. "Yes?"

"I hope you got my reminder, son," a husky voice said. "I will be with you in a few days."

Eric's fingers clawed into the woodwork of the balustrade so hard that his fingers went white. "Of course, Father," he answered.

"Then we will have to talk. About you and your relationship to your brother." The call ended, and for the second time within twenty-four hours Eric felt the urgent need to throw his cellphone against the wall ...