Chapter 10

Turning around, Nick greeted the captain before going towards Kaniger to check out on her. It was unknown whether due to stress or fear but the second Nick came close to Kaniger she broke down and her body started to shiver making Nick confused as to what procedures to follow to calm her down. 

On his one knee Nick checked Kaniger's wounds and scrapes she had on her hands, legs and elbows and also checked for any wounds near her head but all of a sudden Kaniger just hugged him and started bawling on Nick's chest. She seemed to have reached the edge of her nerves after seeing these unknown monsters and tried her best to act tough but now broke down once the threat was eliminated. 

Nick just patted on her back and gave a few soothing words. It was quite awkward for him as he didn't have much of a relationship with Kanigeer and getting hugged right in front of her colleagues was a bit embarrassing. 

Though the agents were focused on capturing the two wounded monsters, they, every once in a while looked towards Nick and Kaniger and when their eyes met Nick's they even had the gall to give a thumbs up. Nick slapped his forehead with his palm inwardly while not still stroking Kaniger's back till she stopped crying though her body shivered every once in a while indicating her trauma. 

Nick removed his jacket and placed it over Kaniger as she slowly came out of his embrace. Despite bawling her fears out right in front of everyone she did not feel embarrassed as of yet as her fears far exceeded the feeling of embarrassment and neither did the FBI agents mock her for it. They too when knowing of such beings in the beginning had gone through such a phase. Some had even slept with their guns strapped on them. 

Being her colleague the men just tapped her back and calmed her down and even joked just to lighten her mood. The captain who was silent from the beginning finally spoke with Kaniger asking her about the ambush. Now if this was a civilian then the captain would not have asked it as it would likely trigger trauma on the victim but Kaniger was an FBI agent and he knew that she had the capacity to withstand such triggers and his thought process was right. 

Despite the shake in her voice and a choke every now and then Kaniger explained the entire ambush slowly and in a detailed manner. She avoided the matter of them transforming into monsters as she felt that even if she told them she wouldn't be able to explain their features clearly. She stopped in the middle and asked about her partner and other agents who came with her and only got a shake on the captain's head. 

Despite not liking Durwell, he had been her partner for almost 2 years and she did not expect him to die like this. She closed her eyes and all their faces flashed inside her mind earning a tremble on her body. 

Waiting till she finished her side of the story the captain asked the agents to send her to the hospital to treat her wounds but not before taking away her gun for safety purposes. It was quite an obvious move from the captain's part as she had just had a traumatic experience and letting her handle a gun was the last thing anyone wanted as people who had seen such crazy shit are prone to be triggered due to nightmares. 

Kaniger didn't resist the captain's orders and just gave it to him and walked away with two agents with her head held low. 

Watching her leave the captain placed his attention on Nick expecting him to fill in the blanks. Though he didn't see Nick Woge the captain felt that Nick should have enough knowledge about the incident and the type of wesens which attacked them. 

Nick patiently explained from the call her received from Kaniger about the ambush to his counterattack after hearing the gunshots from Kaniger. Nick also didn't forget to say about the escape of Dell Santos and also about the fact that he was injured after getting shot near his right shoulder. He then went on to describe the type of wesen they were from Steinadler to Balam and Fuchsbau. 

Captain had a bit of a doubt about the reason Kaniger contacted him but decided to ask Kaniger herself about the details. He also decided to investigate Nick and from where he had learnt about wesens. 

After acting independently Nick too knew that he would be investigated but he welcomed such investigation as once he had obtained a clean chit, he might just get an opening into working with the FBI. In the canon the original Nick had worked in Portland PD making him come across several wesen related murders, then the present Nick by working in/with the FBI would grant him the opportunity to come across high profile cases relating wesen such as fights against Black claw which as per the 5th season in the TV series had for as long as 10 years been active or even getting in touch/working with Hadrian's wall 

His Grimm heritage would obviously be found out if the investigation into his personal life is launched by the FBI or by Hadrian's wall which should by now be in its inception but Nick didn't care much about it as it was something which was bound to happen down the line and it was better to be found out by the FBI and have his identity concealed than working at low level for a long time and being exposed as a Grimm by local wesens which would inadvertently be known by Reapers and Verrat. 

The Portland police too reached the scene of crime and Hank hurried towards Nick with a look of worry in his face. Nick started as a rookie with him and he had taught Nick many things. Though in recent times Nick was the one who held superiority in terms of battle strength making the duo the ace of Portland police department it didn't change the fact that Hank felt responsible for Nick and felt a need to cover for him as a senior.

After asking how he was doing and giving a lecture for a few seconds about him acting alone earning a smile from Nick, Hank asked about what had happened.

Nick gave a rather brief summary about FBI getting ambushed by Juarez cartel but stopped at that without going into details like people turning into monsters as not only did Nick not want to tell Hank about the wesen world but even if he wanted he couldn't because he had just signed confidentiality clause with the FBI stating he wouldn't leak matters of wesen to others. 

This was something which couldn't be avoided as it was better that the world of wesen be hidden from the normal people as once they get to know of their presence it would soon cause chaos, disruption, discrimination and finally war not between countries but between kehrseite and wesen. 

After giving a brief account with Hank, Nick saw Renard who had also arrived at the scene coming towards him, asking whether he was alright but did not ask for what had happened. Well after looking at the bodies which were torn apart the half zauberbiest would have naturally figured out that it was the work of a group of wesen. 

Though Renard showed concern for Nick's well-being, Nick knew that Renard was fishing as he must have heard from the FBI squad captain that it was Nick who killed them. Killing a bunch of wesen as a human is indeed suspicious and Renard was someone who likes to have people under his control and did not like the fact that he had an anomaly in his office and he was unaware of it. 

The Portland PD was the first to vacate the place as they did not have jurisdiction to this case and the FBI squad captain who introduced himself right at the end as Garry Barnes asked Nick to come to the FBI office tomorrow to make a statement to which Nick nodded his head. 

Meanwhile in Treeview hospital after getting a general checkup to check and treat her injuries Kaniger went on to do an MRI to check for any possible brain damage. These were all standard operating procedures for any person who had gone through a traumatic experience. Unless she gets a clean chit from a psychologist as well as medical certificate to emphasize her physical fitness Kaniger cannot re-enter the FBI. 

As a special agent the FBI personnel has rigorous requirements in terms of physical fitness and mental fitness and even after getting a clean chit from the doctor one had to take a fitness test given by the agency to get clearance to once again work as a field agent. 

While she was waiting for her test, her boss came inside her room after finishing up at the scene of crime to not only ask questions but also to get her to sign the confidentiality clause.

The one thing which confused Garry Barnes was the reason as to why Kaniger had decided to call a police detective while she was being attacked by wesens. Kaniger didn't try to hide and said that she was warned by Nick to be careful of Dell Santos. At that time she didn't believe Nick and dismissed his warning.

This increased the intrigue in Garry's mind as he didn't believe Dell Santos  Woged while in interrogation. "How did he know Dell Santos was a wesen?" thought Garry. 

Numerous thoughts flashed such as Nick being connected to or in the know of wesen gangs and mafias or…. Garry suddenly paused his thought as a wild yet most plausible guess formed in his mind and it only grew stronger after watching Nick's fighting prowess.

Having already guessed Nick's identity Garry asked Kaniger to take rest and went back to his office.

Meanwhile being left alone Kaniger tried to get some sleep as she had to be in the hospital till she gets a clean chit from the doctors.