Binding Fate

Royal Pains

At CILESO Headquarters Will Donovan was at his desk, going over a list of names of potential Darkspire members; they had all been suspected of being Endezeichens. The Donovan patriarch set the folder aside, thinking about dark Grimms made him hate being a Grimm himself. Will had seen plenty of horrible things in his life, he had been raised as a Grimm before his powers kicked in.

Will reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. Photographs. He opened one up and gazed at the image it was a picture of him in his younger adult life holding his family sword. It was a broadsword, modified to be weld with one arm ambidextrously and had been passed down for generations. But the family heirloom wasn't the reason for Will's sentiment, it was the man standing next to him in the photo holding a broadsword of his own. The seasoned Grimm unfolded the next photo, it was Will standing with his wife on his wedding day. Once again, the man was next to Will, standing in as his best man.

His name was Reed Burkhardt; Kelly Burkhardt's husband and Nick's father. He had been Will's hunting partner and best friend in life. Unlike Will or Kelly, who were best at fieldwork, Reed had been more of what one would call an intelligence specialist. He had gathered invaluable information about enemy operations, Verrat, the Royals, other organizations that had sought to harm. Both Grimms had been recruited into the Watchers when they were young. When Reed died Will felt the pain one would feel after losing a brother.

When Will saw Nick for the first time, he had been struck with nostalgia and residual grief. Now was the time to honor his brother-in-arms, to tell Nick about his full heritage as a Grimm.

...

Sean Renard was in more frustration than he had ever been in his entire life. He had just gotten a call from his older half-brother, Eric. He was here in Portland and wanted to meet with him. Eric was no doubt here for Nick, the question was how he was planning on getting to the Grimm. Sean had to find out what his brother's plans for Nick were and he had to do it fast.

...

Unknown to Renard, Dorian had been listening in on his phone call with Eric. He immediately sent a recording of the call to the Director, meanwhile Dorian was focusing on the files on his laptop screen. It was a record of a wire transmission of a hundred thousand dollars to an offshore account. The account that had sent the money was the same account that was connected to Renard's checking account and had a history of transactions every month. It was signed under an alias that Maxwell was able to connect to the bastard himself.

In silent victory, Dorian said to himself, "Sean Renard you are under arrest."

...

Nick and Veronica were on their way to see Agents Goodward and Knights to consult with them about a possible Darkspire connection to many Wesen drug cartels. Neither had said much to the other and the silent tension between them didn't help. As they reached the debriefing room Nick got a call on his mobile phone. Juliette.

"Nick, hi I'm glad I got to you."

"Why is everything alright? Did something happen?"

Veronica's hearing wasn't as enhanced as Nick's was but it was good enough for her to listen in on the call.

"No I just need to talk to you for a moment; I heard that you got a new job."

"Yeah, and I'm kind of in the middle of it."

"Sorry, I just have one question for you; what are you doing for dinner tonight?"

Veronica's heart was speeding up and she suddenly wanted to smash Nick's phone to bits.  But she was too surprised to do so. Why didn't Juliette know that Nick was working for CILESO?

"Why would you want me to come over if nothing's wrong?"

That doesn't sound like the kind of conversation a happy couple has. Veronica thought.

"I want to talk to you about our relationship. What'd you say to dinner at the house tonight at eight?"

"I'll try to make it," responded Nick, before ending the call.

...

I waited too long!

Juliette was worried. She didn't like the way her conversation with Nick went, sure he sounded normal but he also seemed surprised at the invitation. The veterinarian could only wait and see how the night went.

And of course, hope for the best.

...

There were few instances in Monroe's life where he wanted to intentionally physically hurt someone, this was one of them. Rosalee had just told him and Hank about her confrontation with Captain Renard. Hank intended to keep a close eye on the bastard while Monroe was trying his best not to go after the captain himself.

"So he didn't threaten you- h-he didn't pull his gun out on you or anything?" Questioned the Blutbad.

"No, he just locked the door and asked me about Nick, "

"I don't like this; we've gotta tell Nick, "  Said Hank, growing concerned about the safety of his friends. "Renard is getting out of line and no one's even hurt yet."

"We don't need to tell Nick. There was a Watcher specialist with me, remember?" Reminded Rosalee.

"Still Nick should know in case the Captain tries to go after Juliette," said Monroe.

...

"So do you want to tell me what's going on with you and Juliette or am I going to have to figure it out myself?"

Nick and Veronica had just finished their debrief with Goodward and Knights. Veronica had noticed Nick's surprise at Juliette's request to see him tonight. She also noticed that he wasn't particularly excited about having dinner with the veterinarian.

"Juliette and I are on rocky terms, " Nick confessed."To be honest I'm not sure that we have a relationship anymore."

Veronica was shell-shocked at this revelation. Last she checked Nick and Juliette were in love with possibilities in their future. When she last called Nick he had mentioned buying an engagement ring.

"I'm so sorry, " Veronica also felt guilty. Her best friend was hurt; why did it feel like a weight had been lifted in her chest?

Just then they got an emergency alert from Director Raymond for a top priority situation.

A Royal was heading to Portland.