Chapter 2

Menace left the hospital and went back to the precinct. She stopped in the nearest coffee shop she could find, and grabbed a coffee along with some sandwiches before heading back to the precinct. This time, she didn't step out of her car. No, she parked outside the precinct, determined to wait for the Detectives and follow them wherever they were.

Menace knows it wasn't a good plan. She knows it's stupid, but if Nick is not willing to talk to her, then she'll find a way to make him.

She saw them come back to the precinct hours later. It was already afternoon and this time they brought the guy from the hospital back to the precinct. Once again, she didn't step out. She waits and waits. Not taking a chance of leaving the precinct to grab food and missing them when they leave again. This is now more than just finding her mother. If she's right, Menace thought that Nick Burkhardt might be seeing what she's seeing too.

It was already dark when Nick Burkhardt stepped out again of the precinct. This time there are more people with him. She saw a woman and the man from the hospital get into a car and head out first. Then there's Nick and the man she talked to yesterday. Nick was holding a woman, who looks like handcuffed. He put her in the backseat of a car before the two of them headed in front. There are another three men, one of them is the police officer in uniform who was with Nick in the hospital. They headed out to another car and waited for Nick to go first.

Once they all drive off, Menace starts the car and follows them. They drive miles and miles, with Menace tailing them a few feet away, making sure not to get noticed. Wherever they are heading, it looks like more than just an investigation.

Then the place they driving on started getting more and more secluded until there was no one to see outside on the road. Menace slows down, making sure to get left behind on purpose. Almost to the point that she can't see them. They are the only ones on the road now, so if she gets closer, she'll get noticed.

She swore she almost lost them until she saw tail lights turning right. That's when she parks on the side of the road, before stepping out of her car. She runs to where she sees them turning, and when she notices their car, she slows down.

Once she got close to their cars, there was no one inside. Seems like they all step out. She looks around at what seems like a spacious empty industrial site. She tried to search for any sign of them, but no one was around.

"Hey!" Menace quickly ducks her head, a steel pipe missing her. She kicked the man, and he staggered backward.

The man then changes, his face changing into what looks like a scaly lizard. Hissing at her as he slowly approaches her.

"Another Grimm?!" the man shouted, charging at her.

This time Menace slides to the left, dodging another swing. The man tried to swing the pipe again, but she was able to grab his arm with her right hand before swinging her left into a punch. Landing a solid hit on the man's jaw. The man staggers again, Menace then gets low and swipes the man's feet with hers. Kicking the man's face when he fell solid on the ground with a thud. Then his face changes back.

Menace instinctively ducks her head when gunshots echo inside the building. She tried to rush inside to help in any way she could, but it looked like some of the others heard the commotion outside, as a couple of guys started coming out of the building.

She slowly steps back, calculating her moves. She steels herself, preparing for an attack. The first man who came out of the building started running towards her. Shouting as he charges with a metal bat in his hand. Menace waited for him to get close, but he wasn't able to.

The man flew off into a wall, knocking himself out. The others started rushing towards her, but like the first one, some of them got thrown into a wall. Some were lifted to the ground, feet, and feet high above the air, before plummeting to the ground with a loud thud. One got close enough to Menace, but before he could do any damage, she was able to kick him in the head.

Menace hurriedly looked around to find the source of what just happened, and then came face to face with a woman, wearing all black, and a very vibrant short blonde hair. A wig. The woman walks towards her, stopping inches away from her face.

Then she changes... Her face resembles a corpse, with visible decaying flesh. Her eyes were glistening black, that looked like encaged with lines of flesh stitched into the lids. Menace took one step backward as a caution, but she didn't flinch. Moreover, she stares back at the woman.

The woman smiles ever so slightly before changing back to normal. Her stare lingers for a moment, before leaving her standing in the middle of some dead bodies and getting inside the building.

More gunshots echo inside the building, but a few minutes later, they stopped. Menace tilts her head to the side a bit, trying to catch any small sounds from inside. Nothing came. It was completely silent. Until the same blonde woman stepped out.

"Welcome to Portland, Grimm." the woman muttered before running away.

Menace tried to follow after her, but rush footsteps coming from inside the building echoed as they got close to her position.

"Stop! Hands in the air!" Menace stopped running, quickly lifting her hands to show them she was weaponless.

"Don't shoot!" she shouted, clenching her teeth. Annoyed by how stupid she was for getting caught.

"Turn around! Keep your hands where I can see them!"

Menace heard more hurried footsteps. She let out a curse under her breath, before following the order. She met face-to-face with Nick Burkhardt upon turning around. His gun pointed at her. The others standing behind him.

"Who are you? Are you with them?!" Menace glances down at the bodies, and shakes her head.

"No. I'm not with them," she answered, keeping her hands in the air. Not risking any chance of getting shot.

"How can I believe that?" Nick asked, slowly walking towards her. The others tried to protest, but he didn't listen.

He pushes her down on her knees, ignoring her grunt, as he carefully searches for any weapon in her clothes. He grabs the wallet from her pants and throws it at the man Menace talked to at the precinct.

"Nick. I know this one." the man muttered as he looked at an I.D. inside her wallet.

"Wu," Nick called to the man in uniform, who took out his cuffs and handed them to him. "How?" Nick asked, putting the cuffs on her after putting his gun back in the holster at his waist.

He makes her stand up and pulls her into the car he was driving earlier. Pinning her down on it.

"She came into the precinct yesterday, searching for you." the man stated, as they all walked towards her.

"What did she say she needed from Nick?" This time, it was the tall man wearing a long coat who spoke up, while looking down at her.

"She asked where she could find him. She said she needs to talk to him about something important."

"Well, I'll have time for you later." Nick declared, pulling her up, before pushing her into the backseat of the second car. "Wu, bring her to the precinct and lock her up. I'll talk to her tomorrow," he said, slamming the car's door.

Menace watches as he walks away from the car. He seemed to be arguing with the others about something, but it was short. They all started going back to the car, this time, none of them came with Nick as he got into the car in front.

The officer in uniform gets inside the backseat with her along with a man wearing a coat over a white sweater and another shirt underneath, and the other two in front. The car started backing up, and once it got back on the road, they let Nick leave first before they headed out.

"Looks like someone was following us." the other detective stated, looking at Menace through the windshield mirror.

"I told you to tell him that I needed to talk to him, but nothing came."

"You see, I ran a background check on you using the driver's license you gave me yesterday. Menace Whittaker was born on May 14, 1993, and currently lives in Idaho. No criminal records, not even a ticket. But I happened to pull out a case regarding a Breaking and Entering gone wrong. It says in the file that a man got inside the house while everyone was awake, having a late-night dinner. The parents got killed, while their 12-year-old daughter survived. Now, this is the part that caught my attention. It says in the report that the daughter survived by killing the intruder using the gun her father owns and that the intruder was shot, once in the neck, once in the chest, and once in the forehead. Know what I'm talking about?"

"It wasn't a breaking gone wrong," Menace answered, gritting her teeth as she looked at the detective in front. "That intruder was Max Foyer. My dad was a great lawyer. A loyal and honest man. He was the defense lawyer for the victim of a case. The suspect was Foyer. Dad won the case, and Foyer was sentenced to sixty years in prison for first-degree murder. Yet, somewhat ten years later, he was released. That very night, he came to our house and killed my parents as an act of revenge on my father for getting him in prison. If I hadn't picked up that gun, I wouldn't be here."

"I knew that. What I don't understand is, why left Idaho. Why leave the life you have there in search of Nick? Do you think that case is the only thing I pulled up? I also know that you used to be a police intern back in Idaho. You were doing well, yet you left after a year. Care to tell us why?" she was getting annoyed.

Giving him her driver's license was only so he could give it to Nick, and the latter would contact her. But the man has other things in mind, and now Menace regrets doing so.

"I'm searching for someone. Someone Nick Burkhardt might know," she answered, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, feeling so tired and restless all of a sudden.

"And that someone is?" The man in the long coat asked.

"That's something only Detective Burkhardt will know once I get to talk to him," Menace stated, closing her eyes, showing everyone how she doesn't want any more questions from them.

"Aren't we gonna talk about the fact that she was twelve when he killed a man?" the man on her left asked, flailing his hand for a moment before stopping it when he noticed the stare Menace was giving him.

Only if he knew that man wasn't just a man...

✓

Like what Nick told Wu, the officer locked Menace up in one of the cells in the precinct. The moment she got inside, she went straight to the bed and lay down. Sighing to herself, as her body felt warm.

"Whatever you need to talk about Nick, make sure it's truly important. He's kind of on edge these past few weeks, and you wouldn't like what happens if you add another trouble." Wu muttered, looking at Menace for a few more seconds before leaving.

The moment he did, Menace fell asleep. Not even minding the fact that she's locked up.

That sleep wasn't long, or it was not enough to sustain those sleepless nights. She was woken up by something clanging on the metal bars of her cell. Menace tried to ignore it, wanting to grab more sleep, but whoever it was, was impatient.

"It's time." Menace sits up at the sound of her cell opening, revealing Nick Burkhardt and the other detective from yesterday.

She let out a tired sigh before standing up and walking towards them, holding out her hands for the handcuffs, but none came.

"You're not a suspect, but you're suspicious. If you just want to talk, then handcuffs are unnecessary." Nick started, grabbing her arm and leading her out of the room.

She was led to a room with only a table and a chair inside. A huge and wide glass window in front. Probably where someone supervises an interrogation. Not that you can see the other side from inside the room.

Nick sits across the table, while the other man locks the door behind him before standing in the corner. Their eyes were glued to her.

"I've been briefed by Hank about records he was able to pull out about you, along with the part where you came here in the precinct in search of me, saying how you need to talk to me about something important. Now, why don't we start there." Nick started, leaning his back on the chair.

"I'll pull out something from my jacket. I'm saying it ahead before you guys pull out guns and point them at me."

The two men glance at each other for a moment, when they don't say anything, Menace fishes out something from the inside pocket of her jacket. She glances at the photograph before sliding it onto the table towards Nick.

"Do you recognize this?" Nick looked at her, then grabbed the photograph. At first, there was no reaction, until Nick squinted his eyes.

His brows furrowed. A frown formed on his face, as he looked back at Menace once again.

"Where'd you get this?" There was an urgency in his tone, and Menace knew that the man recognized the photo.

"From an isolated cabin inside a forest in Nebraska. The cabin was empty. I picked that photo from the floor." she explained, watching Nick's eyes for any change of expression.

Nick leans into the table.

"I believe you live in Idaho. How did you get to Nebraska?" Nick's eyes are attentive, watching every move she makes. His body was tense. His posture was on guard.

"I am searching for someone. Stopping from place to place where that person was last seen. I consider every detail, even the smallest one, important." she answered, also leaning on the table. Her eyes stared directly into Nick's.

"Now, who are you searching for so adamant that you reached Nebraska, and now Portland?" the man from the corner walls closer, putting his arms on the table to support his body as he leaned.

"The woman in the picture. I'm searching for the woman in the picture." Nick's jaw clenches as he looks down at the photo once again.

"Then why go to Portland just to search for me? How are you so sure that I can tell you anything about the woman in this photo?" Nick asks once again, his body seeming tenser than earlier as if he is preparing to pounce on her.

"Turn the photo." Nick did what Menace said. His eyes run across the messy handwriting from behind the photo. His eyes glistened with recognition. "Now, I believe that boy in that picture is you, along with the handwriting. I'm assuming you know the woman considering you two look very attached in that photograph."

"Then you got that right. This was me in the picture when I was fifteen years old. Now, you're gonna tell me the reason why you're searching for this woman." Nick demanded, standing abruptly from his seat.

"She's my biological mother."

It felt like time stopped running after Menace let out those words. No one was saying anything. The room which was usually active when there was an interrogation, went quiet in an instant.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes. If you think this is funny, then you're getting back in the cell."

"I'm not lying! She's the one in the sketch I made out from the Director's description. He was the one who saw her carrying me the night I was given to the orphanage. The same woman who named me Menace!" Menace stated, slamming her fists on the table, mad about the fact that they didn't believe her. "Just let me talk to her, if you don't trust me, then tell her yourself. She'll know what I'm saying here."

Both the men stare at her for a moment, before glancing at each with knowing looks. Nick then leans back on his chair, avoiding her eyes.

"I can't," Nick answered, meeting her eyes once again.

"Why?! You just need to tell her-"

"I can't! She died four years ago. Breast Cancer. She never mentioned anything about having a child."

"No... That can't be! Okay?! She can't be dead. She's supposed to explain to me why she left me. She's supposed to tell me what's going on with me. She's supposed to be here!"

Both the men remain silent. Both don't know what to say. After all, they're still not sure whether she's telling the truth, or it's just one of the Black Claw's plans to destroy everyone, especially Nick.

"We're letting you go since we don't have anything to charge you with. We'll send you outside."

Menace stared at Nick, her eyes begging him to say that it was just a mistake. Because the search for her mother became Menace's life for a year and a half. But Nick didn't say anything anymore. He opens the door, waiting for her to follow. Menace wasn't able to do anything.

On their way out, they met the other two men from last night. The one in uniform, and the tall man wearing a long coat.

"We got an attack in the jail." the man in uniform started, both of them rushing first.

"You stay here," Nick told her before the other two ran after them.

Menace frowned, shrugging as she ran after them. It was the taller man who burst into the jail room first, followed by the others. Menace entered the room right in time to see a man clinging to the other side of the bars while grabbing the other man, imprisoned in the joined cell, in the neck.

The man's face had changed into what a coyote looked like. Fur in the whole face, elongated snout, pointed and canid ears, and razor-sharp teeth. Menace watches as the man rips out the other man's neck. Nick tried to grab the guard's gun, but he was too late.

The guard fired two shots, hitting the attacker in the chest before Nick was able to pull away his gun. Hank pins the guard into the wall, as the taller man gets inside the cell.

They all watch as the man changes back to normal, using his blood to make four lines in the wall before dying.

"You saw it right? It wasn't human... Oh my god." the guard exclaimed, looking terrified as Hank let him go.

Nick walks closer to the other cell, looking at the dead man who got his throat ripped out.

"Coyotl..." Menace mumbled, earning everyone's attention.

Menace and Nick look into each other's eyes. Nick's eyes widen at the sight of her.

✓