Present Day Portland, Oregon 2011
Nick Burkhardt raised an eyebrow in slight amusement at his fellow detective as he exited the jewelry store. "What are you doing?"
Leaning slightly on the hood of their shared squad car and cleaning a camera lense, his partner Hank Griffin only chuckled. "Testing out the new equipment and getting a picture of a man with a new lease on life."
"You're acting like if she had said yes, then my life would have been over." It had only been two months since his failed relationship, but Nick knew that selling the ring now would help in moving on.
Hank started to put the camera away. "Trust me man, once you've been married and divorced a couple of times, you'll truly enjoy these moments of singlehood."
Shaking his head slightly at his partner's response, Nick opened the car door. "Well unlike you, I'm more of a one and done kind of guy. When I finally put a ring on someone, that'll be it for me."
"Oh, you're a happily ever after guy," Hank chuckled some more before his phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking it out and giving it a glance he noted aloud, "Looks like we've got a body."
Nodding once, Nick was about to get in the car when a spark of electricity tingled his ear. Looking up and across the street, he saw a beautiful blonde chatting with a brunette. The blonde's laughter was sending pleasant shivers down his spine.
"Detective Burkhardt, already ready to get back in the saddle again," Hank snarked good naturedly as he noticed his partner's wandering eye.
Not taking his eyes off the blonde, Nick rebutted. "It's not like that, she wears Armani, makes low-six figures, drives a BMW, and is falling for a senior partner at her law firm. Nothing but trouble Hank."
"No need to ruin it," Hank said as he got into the car, "Why can't you just look at her ass like the rest of us."
"I can't," Nick responded as he watched as the blonde parted ways with the brunette and started to walk along the sidewalk towards his direction. The hairs on Nick's neck started to rise at the same time the blonde seemed to notice him.
She seemed to smile bashfully as she tucked some stray hairs back behind her right ear. The electricity sparking beneath Nick's skin seemed to almost ignite an inferno within his heart as she neared closer and closer. A light breeze rolled by and it happened. Almost in slow motion, the angelic blonde's face seemed to ripple and sag. Blonde turned to streaked silver. Her eyes became sunken as the skin on her face seemed to tear. What once was an angel was now a hag.
Nick's eyes widened slightly. Not in horror or shock, but in recognition. A warmth seemed to settle in him as a single thought crossed his mind. 'I'm a Grimm.'
Ever since he was told of his heritage, he knew one day he could become one. He studied the books in his aunt's trailer as best he could. He partially ignored the information that would help him take down Wessen, since it would be useless until his Grimm woke up, but he did focus on what would help him look for the signs of Wessen conflict. His aunt and uncle trained him vigorously in combat in the summers before he left for the Academy. It was only natural for the Watcher 'hopefully' of Wessen to join law enforcement. Seeing his Grimm finally awakening fully solidified Nick's resolve towards his chosen career.
"Come on Nick, We have a call," Hank semi-shouted from the driver's seat and broke the spell that seemed to engulf Nick.
The woman's face rippled back into her angelic form, though a look of utter horror seemed to replace that beautiful smile. She began to quicken her pace and looked down and slightly away from Nick as she passed him by. There still was a dull thrum of static under Nick's skin as he watched her hurry away before finishing getting into the car.
Nick looked about the horror scene in silent thought. 'If you think you're facing a Wessen, remember they only fight in two scenarios.' His aunt's voice resonated in his head as he looked at the trail. 'If they think that they won't get away without a fight they'll be proactive and pounce or…' Nick looked at where parts of the body laid on the forest floor.
"Something got their attention, taking them off the trail." Nick said as he walked toward the body. 'They're on a hunt.' "They were probably facing this direction and got blindsided from either the left or right." Nick gestured in the general direction of where their attacker could have come from.
The Forest Service Officer frowned slightly at the words, before calling out from Nick's right, "I've got a boot print over here."
"You're thinking a person did this and not an animal?" Hank questioned looking at the remains. The shredded torso and chunks of limbs lying about looking more like a rabid beast attack than anything else.
"Last time I checked, animals don't run off with clothes after they kill their prey. I've got some red strands here, possibly a jacket or a sweater," Nick responded before taking a picture of the aforementioned strands. "They took a trophy."
"Damn," Hank shook his head slightly. "If he's taking trophies, then we have a serial killer on our hands. We'll need to run a 5 year history of the area within 100-miles of here. See if this guy is passing through or if he's a local."
"Check unknown animal attacks and missing persons," Nick responded, "if he's local, maybe we can get an idea on what his preference is and narrow down where he hunts."
A light buzzing emanated from Nick's phone. Looking at the scene with a slight frown on his face, Nick brought his phone to his ear. "Burkhardt."
"Hey Nick, it's Farley." His uncle's voice crackled over the phone. Stupid reception in this area. "Your aunt needs to see you, so we're coming over. I wanted to know if you're still living with that Silverton girl."
"We had a bit of a falling out," Nick replied. No need to embarrass himself by saying he got turned down when he proposed. "I bought a loft in an old paint factory, I'll text you the address and access codes." 'Maybe a good thing for them to swing by now anyway,' Nick thought as what he saw earlier in the day passed through his mind.
"Company at the fortress of solitude?" Hank questioned as he walked over shaking his head slightly, "Honestly I don't know why you moved into the middle of nowhere."
"It's cheaper than renting and I've got plans," Nick responded as thoughts of what he could add now that his Grimm woke up entered his mind. "But yeah, my aunt and uncle are coming to visit."
A teasing grin grew on Hank's face. "So I shouldn't send strippers then?"
Nick chuckled slightly. "No strippers, though according to my uncle, my aunt Marie was a wonder with a pole back in the day." A polearm that is.
Hank barked out a laugh before sighing. "Well we should probably try and get this sorted then so you have time to visit the folks."
"Yeah," Nick agreed before joining Hank in scouring the crime scene some more. He had a bit to talk about at home.