Chapter 9

The next minutes went by so fast. One minute they were discussing the books, the second, they had more trouble than they had when they came into the house. Nick was made to wear gloves by Monroe's Uncle to avoid damaging the very old book lying on top of the coffee table as he checks to see if it truly is a Grimm book.

Nick was certain it was a legit Grimm book, and it turned out that Monroe's Uncle brought 19 more with him. It was enough to replace the ones that Juliette burned in the trailer truck.  Not that it was replaceable. But each one contains an immeasurable value. Each book contains the history of all the Grimms before them and the Wesens they annihilated.

"There's no way I can pull together $100, 000 in 24 hours." Nick started the moment Monroe's Uncle was out of the house.

Felix demanded a $100, 000 payment for all the books.

"But if all the books look like this one..." Rosalie trailed off, motioning her hand on the book that Felix left with them, still lying on top of the coffee table.

"And what if they're destroyed?" Monroe chimed in stressed out too. He tried begging his Uncle, but the older man didn't listen even to his nephew. "Which is what will happen if they fall into certain Wesen hands."

Menace peaks out of the window, holding the curtain open and watching Felix's car disappear from the street before she decides to speak up.

"I've heard of the guy that your Uncle got the books from, Joseph Nebojsa." she declared, looking at everyone as they turned to her.

"How?" Rosalie asked.

"I was in headquarters when Nick called me. They were discussing him. There's a black claw on the wall of his house. That's where they killed the antique dealer."

They all stare at her with confused looks on their face. Probably wondering how the headquarters knows about the murder.

"Meisner told me that HW gets alerted whenever that mark is found anywhere in the world," Menace explained, earning a raised eyebrow from Nick.

"HW's gotta be funded by the government, right?" Monroe asked, not asking anything about the seemingly close relationship of Menace to the man who sent Wesens to test her and Nick before.

"Yeah?" Menace answered, not sure. After all, she never asks questions she doesn't have to.

"Well, maybe they can come up with the cash. I mean, these books would mean something to them, too, wouldn't they?" Monroe continued, glancing down at the Grimm book.

"Yeah, maybe." Menace nodded, thinking that Monroe might be right.

After all, anything that concerns Grimms is just as important as all the cases in HW. Hadrian's Wall, as Meisner told Menace.

"We should talk to Meisner and show him the book," Nick suggested, a hopeful look in his eyes as he waited for Menace's answer.

"It's worth a shot," she replied, smiling at Nick and Monroe.

"I'll see what I can find out about Joseph Nebojsa." Rosalie chimed in, smiling at everyone as they started to move.

∆

"Is that the book?" Trubel started the moment Menace, Nick, and Monroe stepped inside the building, looking at the cloth-covered object in Monroe's hands.

Menace only nodded, walking beside Nick, following Trubel towards the central command with Monroe falling behind. Menace saw Meisner standing up from his seat the moment they stepped inside the room. His eyes met hers for a moment before looking at Nick and Monroe.

"So, Meisner, this is Monroe." Trubel introduced, pointing to the latter.

"Good to finally meet you," he responded, ignoring Menace as she walked past the table in front of him, grabbing his seat and his laptop. 

Menace frowned upon seeing all the information plastered on the screen, glancing at Meisner for a moment before deciding to slide back the laptop in front of him. Crossing her arms as she watches Monroe interact awkwardly with Eve, who turned out to be Juliette, Nick's ex-girlfriend.

She still remembers the silly confusion on her face when Monroe and Nick informed her on the way. The Eve that welcomed her that first night they met each other, is the same Juliette that burned down the trailer truck her mother used to store all the Grimm stuff in. The same trailer truck that her mother, the mother she wasn't able to meet, used to live in.

She glances at Eve, a pissed look on her face. Eve noticed it and glanced down at her in the most robotic way she'd ever seen someone do. It was only for a moment, yet Menace felt like Eve knew what was on her mind, but if she was, she didn't make it obvious on her face as she looked back to Nick and Monroe.

"Is that the book?" Eve asked Monroe, to which the latter answered with a timid 'Yeah'.

Monroe puts down the book on the table in front of everyone. Nick steps forward, closer to Monroe.

"Do you know about the Grimm books?" he asked, looking at Meisner.

"Yeah. I've seen a few." Meisner responded, nodding his head once.

"Well, this one is pretty amazing, even as far as Grimm books go." Monroe chimed in, carefully opening the book to show Meisner the content. A drawing of a man with an elephant head and carrying a woman.

"If there are nineteen more like this,  it would help replace what was lost when the trailer was burned down," Eve stated, face void of any emotion. Earning everyone's attention.

Menace badly wanted to say 'duh', but she stopped herself from doing so. The situation is serious and she doesn't want to spoil it even more than it already is.

"Yeah," Monroe replied, glancing at Nick for a moment before looking back at Eve. "A lot of irreplaceable history was destroyed, and not by accident." he continued.

"If the black claw is willing to kill to get to these books, they must consider them dangerous." Meisner chimed in, folding his arms across his chest.

"One of Black Claw's missions is to eradicate all things Grimms, including Grimms."

"Well, isn't that great?" Menace replied sarcastically, giving Eve a forceful smile.

"Look, can you get us the $100,000 that Monroe's uncle wants? We only have 24 hours." Nick questioned. His voice was firm and serious.

"Make that 22-and-a-half. And my uncle will not hang around." Monroe stated, looking down at the watch on his wrist.

"I'll see what I can do. But this is government money from a fund that doesn't exist, so, I can't make any promises." Meisner answered, glancing down at Menace who grabbed his laptop once again and started watching a movie.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

Nick, Monroe, Trubel, and Eve, watch the interaction, with Nick frowning.

∆

Menace glances at Nick across the table, watching as his relaxed face changes into a stressed one while talking to Monroe and Rosalee on the phone.

"Well, I don't have $100,000," he answered, glancing at Menace who gave him an assuring smile. "Okay, maybe," he replied again on the phone, standing up from his seat upon seeing Hank grabbing his jacket from the swivel chair.

"We've got a body downtown," Hank told him, glancing at Menace as Nick ended the call.

Menace grabs her jacket on the table, following the two men out of the station and into their car.

"Nick, I have an idea." she started once the car was on the road, looking at Nick on the shotgun.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at the rearview mirror to see her in the backseat.

"I called my uncle last night after we got home. I asked him how much I had left in my bank account. Well, my parent's saving bank account which I inherited, but that's beside the point. There's still around $50,000 on it. I'm thinking of-"

"Are you saying you want me to use it for the books?" Nick cut in, this time, fully turning to his side so he could see her properly.

"Well, yes. It's already half of $100,000. I think we can make a deal with Monroe's uncle with it. Tell him to give us more time to get the other half or something." Menace answered, staring at Nick who was currently giving him a baffled look.

"Menace, it's your parent's saving for you. Probably for your future." Hank chimed in, glancing at the rearview mirror for a moment before looking back at the road.

"This is my future now, Hank, okay? Those books are more important. If we can't get it now, we'll have no other chance." Menace firmly stated, looking at Nick and waiting for his response.

"Fine. But we'll talk about this late." Nick responded, sitting back properly.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the crime scene. Wu was already there, waiting for them in the corridor.

"Victim is in the mid-60s, attacked inside his hotel room sometime earlier this morning." Wu started as they followed him to the exact crime scene. "This one's a little unusual, even considering the normal unusual."

"Why?" Hank questioned, looking ahead.

"Victim's mouth has a lot of blood," Wu responded his small notepad in his hand.

"Was he hit?" Menace asked, walking beside Nick.

"No, looks more like he bit somebody," Wu answered, as he stepped inside a trashed room with the others following behind him.

The room was a complete mess. Clothes scattered all over the floor. Drawers turned over. Blood stains on the window curtains, and a pool of it on the white messy bed.

"Got a possible ID, victim registered as-"

"Felix." Nick cut in, looking at something on the side of the bed.

Menace frowned, rushing to his side and stopping at the sight of the familiar dead victim, Monroe's uncle.

Felix lay there, color drains from his face. His clothes were stained either with his blood or the ones he bit. His throat was full of slashes, and his mouth was covered with blood.

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Wu asked, looking over Nick's shoulder.

"That's Monroe's uncle," Nick answered, the sight still not registering in his mind.

"This is the book guy?" Hank questioned, pointing at Felix.

"Yeah..." Menace trailed off, putting her hands on her hips as he looked at the old man she just talked to last night.

The same man who demanded $100,000 for all the Grimm books.

"That must have been what they were after." Nick continued, glancing back at Felix.

∆

Nick called Monroe after that since he's the only family close to them. He came and cried upon seeing his uncle's body. Sure of himself that his Uncle fought back because his uncle truly did.

The blood on his uncle's mouth wasn't his, meaning that whoever attacked him was badly wounded. Something to help them with the case.

'Cause, it turns out that the books weren't with him. He couldn't bring it all with him after all. Each book is five pounds if not more, and there are nineteen more of them. It means that whoever killed Felix will still be after the books.

Upon investigating, they decided to go back to HW to get more information about the attackers. Nick thought that whoever killed the antique dealer, may be the same people that killed Felix, and if that is the situation, it also means that they are black claws. And HW is the only one, more knowledgeable about any situation regarding them.

"What is this, a Wesen database?" Monroe asked, staring at the wide screen in the middle of the control room that showed images of two men.

"You're in it," Meisner answered nonchalantly, his arms folded across his chest as they always are.

"Krisztian Ajandok and Oscar Vasicek are both Anubi, and we've tracked a connection to a Black Claw cell in the Czech Republic," Eve explained, standing firm and still looking like a robot.

"HW in Berlin already connected them to the killing of the antique dealer in Prague." Meisner followed, turning to Menace when she suddenly stepped closer to him, inching her face to his.

"Anubi? As in the ones with a human body but the face of a dog?" she whispered, regretting not finishing all the Grimm books that were salvaged from the burned trailer truck and currently stored safely in Rosalee's shop.

Meisner only gave her a sigh, turning back to face the others, and completely ignoring Menace when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Now, they're here," Nick commented, eyes glued to the images on the huge screen.

"See if you can find when they arrived," Meisner told Trubel, watching as she typed on the laptop in front of her.

Menace looks at Nick as he answers the call from his phone, probably from Hank who was left outside to take care of any case that comes and that may be connected to Felix's murder.

"I got him." Trubel declared, typing something on the computer and showing it on the screen.

Everyone turns to look at it.

"Timestamp on this is 11:38 last night at PDX." Trubel continued.

"See if they rented a car or booked a flight out. That will tell us if they're still in Portland." Eve ordered her hands on top of the table just right beside Trubel.

Her eyes stare into Nick's as he stares back. Eve's eyes were void of emotion, while Nick's were filled with something Menace couldn't discern. Nick was the first one to pull away from the stare as he stepped aside to answer a call.

"Your uncle had the books shipped," he stated after a few minutes, turning to Monroe.

"That's why he gave you 24 hours to think about it," Monroe replied.

"We couldn't find a shipping order in the hotel room, and Felix would've needed that to pick up the books."

"These guys must have taken it," Monroe added, pointing at the pictures of the two men on the screen.

"Got something on the car." Trubel started, all heads turning in her direction. "Ford expedition, rented in the name of Krisztian Ajandok. Hasn't been returned." she continued.

"Then they're on their way to get the books," Eve added, standing firmly from hunching over beside Trubel.

"The cargo company doesn't open up till 9 tomorrow morning," Nick stated, his hands on his hips.

"But they're not gonna wait for that." Menace chimed in, grabbing her motorbike keys from the table in front of her.

"Thanks for your help," Nick muttered, turning to Meisner before turning his back on him.

"I'll be asking you for yours soon enough."

Menace was about to follow Nick and Monroe, but then was stopped by Meisner when he grabbed her elbow.

"What?!" she exclaimed, pulling her arm free from his grasp.

"They can handle it with just the two of them. You stay here." Meisner ordered more than saying, his tone commanding.

"But-" Menace's words were cut off before she could protest when Nick only nodded at her. Ensuring that they can handle things themselves.

Menace let out a sigh as she watched the two men disappear out the door, before turning to Meisner, a glare set on her eyes.

"Next time you stop me, I'll break your goddamn arms." she declared, grabbing a seat beside Trubel who only gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'll hold you to that then," Meisner replied, unfazed by the intensity of Menace's glare.

A smirk lies on his face as he looks at her.

∆

Trubel and Menace rode their bikes side by side on the road after Nick called a few hours after they left the headquarters, and told them to go to Rosalee's shop.

Everyone was there when they arrived. Nick, Monroe, with a little blood still in his mouth, Rosalee, Hank, and Wu. They all huddled over a huge old trunk of luggage. The same luggage that Felix shipped the books in.

They watch as Monroe pick the locks of the trunk, all on the edge, excited and nervous to see what's inside. They all watch in amusement when Monroe finally opens it, revealing tons of old brown leatherbound books.

"Let's get them out of there." Nick started, breaking the silence.

"Gently, gently," Monroe demanded as everyone starts taking out the books, carefully placing them on a table just right behind them.

Menace can't help the smile from appearing on her face. She only read a few of the books salvaged from the fire in the trailer truck, and in that few, her eyes were open to the truth more than it was before. Seeing all the books they're taking out from the trunk, she can't help but feel overwhelmed just thinking about all the different Wesens species she'll learn from them, aside from the ones she already encountered, if not killed.

Then Monroe grabbed a piece of wood from inside after seeing a hole in it and was astonished to see what was hidden underneath it.

"There's a lot more stuff in here than just books," Trubel stated, a large grin on her lips as they started taking out all the remaining wood plates that covers what was underneath.

Menace watches beside Nick, her eyes widening once everything was revealed. There was a crossbow, small sharp wooden arrows, along with a few more old medieval weapons she had only seen in movies before.

"Oh. That's incredible." Rosalee commented, gaping at the weapons.

"That is a lot of stuff," Monroe added, eyeing the weapons as if they were artifacts, which they truly are. Grimm artifacts.

"Looks like we got our trailer back," Hank said, glancing at Menace who was still uninformed about who originally owned the said trailer truck.

Once they get everything out, they all started checking all the stuff. Wu with the weapons, Menace, Nick, Trubel, and Rosalee on the books, while Monroe remained kneeling beside the trunk luggage.

"I still don't understand why they would kill people for all this. Its only real value is to a Grimm." Rosalee sadly stated, stopping from browsing the book in front of her.

"Black Claw is trying to destroy everything that has to do with Grimms," Trubel replied, her arms on the table as he leans back.

"Hey, hey, wait, wait a minute, look at this one." Hank chimed in, earning everyone's attention as he flip through the pages of another book in his hands. Nick standing on his right and Menace on his left. "It's not like the others. It's like some kind of family tree book of ancestry," he added, as everyone gathers around him to get a closer look.

"That's not a regular family tree," Rosalee commented, pointing to the names on the book. "It's only following a few individuals from generation to generation."

"And some of them just dead end," Trubel added, her eyes glued to the book as she read a few names.

"Wait." Menace started, realizing something upon reading the names. "Joseph Nebosja is the name of the person Monroe's uncle got the books from right?" she asked, turning to Nick and Trubel who both nodded in response. "It's the same last name." she continued, pointing at the top of a page where 'Nebosja' is written in bold intricate letters.

"Go to the end," Nick said, understanding what Menace was getting at.

Hank did what he said, opening the folding page on the right and revealing 'Joseph Nebosja, 1919' written in intricate cursives.

"There he is, Joseph Nebosja." Nick pointed out, fully realizing what Menace was trying to make them realize.

"Oh, my god, they're all Grimms," Wu uttered.

"That's why this is worth killing for. Everyone in this book is a Grimm." Rosalee added, answering her own pondering earlier.

"See if Burkhardt's in there," Monroe remarked, fumbling with something in the lock of the trunk luggage.

"No, it would be my mother's maiden name, Kessler," Nick stated, turning to Menace who gave him a hopeful look.

If she truly is Nick's cousin, her mother's name might be in the book too, along with hers.

"Hey, I think I just saw a Kessler," Hank said, turning the pages in a quick but careful manner. "Here." he continued, pointing to the 'Kessler' written in thick black bold intricate letters just like Nebosja earlier. He then opened another folded page on the right, asking Nick if Walter is his grandfather which he answered with a 'Yeah'.

Then there they saw a Marie Kessler b. 1958 and Kelly Kessler b. 1960, written just below.

"And there's Aunt Marie, there's my Mom, and there I am..." Nick trailed off looking at everyone, as he pointed at his name. 'Nick Burkhardt'

"You're not the only one..." Menace said in a low voice as if she was weak or something, pointing to the name written below Marie Kessler, 'Menace Whittaker (1993)'.

She is indeed Nick's cousin, born from the sister of his mother. And even though she was sent to an orphanage, her mother might've at least told Nebosja about her. That's why she was included in the family tree.

"Nebosja was keeping this book up to date," Rosalee commented.

"This would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands."

∆