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Charity looked over the layout of the building in which she was supposed to be planning her next murder.

"I want blue prints of the building, air vents, secret fucking passages ways, whatever, I need to know every inch of this building. Especially the positions of the camera's. I know there's a hallway through the kitchen to the back alley way but that's going to be so crowded."

Eric turned to one of his lackey's, "Are you listening?"

"Yes, sir." He nodded curtly and walked out the door.

"From what I can see is that we would have a vantage point from the upper vent on the balcony looking over the ballroom." Charity sighed, "But your guy better be a good shot. Tell me again why you choose to do this in the Town Hall, at the most crowded event of the year."

"It has nothing to do with the occasion, it is just the next place that Newton Graves will be seen in public." Eric replied.

"I need to know what I'm trying to retrieve, will he be carrying it, or will it just be nearby?"

"It'll be on his person, we believe he has it hidden inside his watch."

"Dude, I can just pickpocket that, why do we have to kill him?"

"While it is important to collect the watch, I also need Graves out of the picture."

Charity bent herself over the countless papers covering the table, "Long range rifles, McMillian are really good, MK-15's are military grade. Silencers too, good ones, unless you want to make a scene."

"I want it as smooth as possible." Eric said.

"Where's Jeeves with those blueprints?"

"They recovered Chari's car, it was still at the art gallery, not clues, just Chari." Wu said to Nick as he approached with the forensic report they'd run on Charity's car, "Her handbag was in the passengers seat."

"That's a complete dead end." Nick groaned, "Another complete dead end."

"How's, ah, how's Renard taking it?"

Nick glanced back into his husbands office, "Well, that's another thing."

"And you?"

"Yeah, we're both pretty much in the same headspace. I'm just so worried you know."

"She'll be okay, Nick, she's tough. I mean, see what she survived in the Compound."

"Chari's … this just might be her breaking point. She's incredibly strong but everything's catching up to her. She knows it, we know it. Char's going to have to face her past eventually and she is definitely not prepared. No matter how strong or prepared she thinks she is."

"I know, Nick, I watched her grow up. She'll be okay, we'll make sure of it." Wu squeezed his shoulder, "Now get back to work and find our baby girl."

Charity' head was reeling, her heart was picking up pace. She looked down into Aiden's ceil and started to doubt herself.

She knew Eric would never let her go, not if she pulled this off, she would become his Grimm, his perfect little soldier.

She scratched at her wrist, under the silk, to the tattoo. The mark left behind from her second capturing, when she was 7. She'd been terrified then and she was terrified now.

The feeling never changed, it stayed the same in its essence, that feeling of crushing pressure, the feeling that nothing would ever be all right again. It was hard to stay positive, to stay calm in situations like this.

Charity wasn't, she was panicking inside while her exterior remained calm and nonchalant. That was the first thing the compound taught her, the ability to stay calm under pressure, and even when she wasn't calm, she had to hide it.

As much as Charity hated to admit it, it was times like this when she appreciated the knowledge that the Compound had given her. It made her feel sick that anything good had come from the Compound, but those skills, those thinking patterns, they'd kept her alive.

Charity glanced up as one of Eric's lackeys, the one she had earlier called Jeeves came into the observation room with two trays of food and a tray of tea.

"Princess Charité." He nodded, leaving a single tray of food and the tea before taking in Aiden's breakfast.

"Jeeves." Charity called out as he came back up and turned to the door.

He spun back around to face her, "Yes, your majesty."

"Why do you call me that? I'm not a Royal."

"Prince Renard begs to differ."

Charity fixed him with a narrowed gaze, "He wants me, me of all people, on a throne?"

"Of course."

"Maybe you should tell him I'm not blood." Charity looked away from him and into Aiden's room, "Sean is not my real father."

"I don't think that matters to the Prince, my lady, for you are a way into Sean Renard's heart, and that is all that Prince Renard wants."

Charity fixed her gaze on him, "You said that bitterly." She stated.

"I have a belief that people's families should by no mean be used to help turn the tides of political quarrels."

"Hmm." Charity agreed, "You surprise me, Jeeves."

She heard a snicker as he walked out the door.

Perhaps, just perhaps, she has a potential ally.

"Nick, you might wanna hear this." Wu waved him over.

Wu was standing with a family. A woman crying into what was probably her husbands shoulder, a little boy clung to his fathers leg. Nick recognised Patrick and Jazabell Dane behind them, anger prickled within him at the sight of Patrick. He also recognised Alex Dane, Charity's art teacher and the last person who saw her. Nick was very suspicious of this man.

"This is Dean Lavos and his wife, Angel. You know the rest of the Dane's."

"How can I help you?" He asked the family.

"My boy, he's been kidnapped." The father, Dean said, "When I went to pick him up from school he wasn't there. He was supposed to stay behind at the library like every other Monday, I always work later on Mondays, you see. I walked into the library to pick him up and the librarian said he'd already left. She said that he'd said that his dad texted him to meet him at the front of the school but I didn't."

"Is there any chance he could have gone of with some friends?"

"I thought so, that why we waited until today to see if he would come home, but he hasn't. Angel is panicking." Dean voice was getting less steady by the second.

"Come over to my desk and I'll try and find some things." Nick took his seat, pulling chairs for the mourning couple. The others stood behind them.

"What was his name?"

"Aiden, Aiden Lavos."

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