The Investigation | Mikael

Chapter Four

 When back in my office, I took the time to ponder my situation. If I were to go out into the city late at night, that would be the best time to find Mikael. There was no doubt he would be out and about then. The next task would be where to find him. 

 He was feeding on vampires from the French Quarter, which meant he was still spending time in the Quarter. There was a chance I would be able to catch him. It might have been a big chance, but still a chance all the same. I might still be able to catch him. 

 I didn't have much of a plan for when (or if) I did find Mikael. I would have to keep my distance from the Original and get in touch with Marcel as quickly as I could. I knew Marcel would be waiting for my call, and would be there immediately when I called. 

 Before I went out for the night, I did look around to see what weapons I owned, and it wasn't much; all I had was my old army pistol, now filled with wooden bullets, and a few kitchen knives. No match against an Original, but I usually took my pistol with me whenever I went out at night, so I hid it within my jacket, where it would remain unseen unless I pulled it out. 

 It was eleven when I left my little building. There were few, if any, people still around. I was away from the main streets of the French Quarter, so not as many tourists made their way to me. I was thankful for the quiet, and couldn't complain. 

 I slowly walked down the street, wondering where I should start. If Mikael were here, where would he be? If he were on the streets tonight, it would be for blood, because he needed to feed. But where in the Quarter would he be was the question. For all I knew, he could be anywhere. 

 I thought about simply going through some of the alleyways as a start, but something stopped me, and that something was another idea. Klaus. 

 Would Mikael go to the old Mikaelson compound to visit his stepson? What reason would he have? According to Marcel and to all the old stories, Mikael was a vicious and ruthless killer who would have stopped at nothing to kill Klaus. 

 The only answer to the question would be grief. If Mikael was grieving the loss of his children, did he got some kind of comfort in going to see Klaus, the only one of the generation who was definitely alive? Whether I was right or not, it was a good start to my investigation. 

 I made my way to the old Mikaelson compound, and slipped on when it seemed no one was around to see. I imagined Marcel must have had someone watching the place, someone I was unable to see in the night. 

 The compound was an absolute wreck. After the day Marcel attacked a year ago, no one had bothered to clean it up. It seemed wrong to leave it like that, but the Mikaelsons were all gone and no one was using the place, so in the end it didn't really matter. 

 Marcel had written in the papers he'd given me that he had Klaus sealed up in a wall somewhere in the house, but it would take time to find out where he was. I walked through some of the house, appalled at the sight of the place the way it was now. When Marcel brought me there to meet the Mikaelson siblings almost a century earlier, the place was absolute perfection. I had never been anywhere that seemed to fancy. 

 I eventually placed my hand against a brick wall that made me pause. I got the feeling there was something, or someone, on the other side. I pressed my palm against the wall. This had to be it. 

 And then I was suddenly pushed to the ground with such force that it made me remember who I was looking for in the first place. 

 It was him. Mikael. 

 "I assume Marcel sent you," he said calmly, staring down at me.