"Detective Burkhart, I think I owe you a thank-you."
Frank Rabe was still driving Nick around in his four-wheel-drive off-roader. After dealing with a whole mess of trouble, the two continued searching the forest for Rocky before darkness fell.
"Don't worry about thanking me. I hope you can sort out your family affairs after this. Sometimes, respecting tradition doesn't mean inheriting all its rotten parts."
As someone from Cyrus, Nick felt he had a fair amount of standing to speak on that subject.
Frank Rabe gave the detective beside him a long look, a touch more wonder on his face. "If all Grimms could be like you, that would be something. God, a Grimm who's a law enforcement officer..."
Before he could finish marveling, however, he suddenly sniffed the breeze several times, and a fierce glint flashed through his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Nick thought he was about to lose control and transform again.
"Vultures. Damn it, what's a bunch of organ thieves doing in this forest? Seems there's more than one, too," Frank Rabe complained.
"You mean Vultures?" Nick recalled the entry he had read in Grimm's Journal.
"Yes. I thought you Grimms had killed off all the Vultures on this continent long ago." Frank Rabe gave Nick a pointed glance.
But after sniffing the breeze a few more times, his expression visibly relaxed. "Looks like they were just passing nearby. They should be gone by now."
Bears seemed to have pretty keen noses, too. No wonder they were called dog-bears. Nick didn't want to reveal that he was still a rookie Grimm. As he pondered how to respond, his phone rang just in time.
The call was from Wu. Rocky had been found. He had run all the way out of the forest and sought help from passing vehicles,