Fic: The Time Has Come to Be Gone 4/5
It was good to be him, Rossi decided as he waited in the parking lot. While Morgan and JJ were stumbling around in the dark forest, most likely being eaten alive by mosquitoes he reminded himself, he was getting the first crack at interrogating Winchester.
Unlike his wisecracking brother, Sam Winchester was soft-spoken and serious. Rossi had handcuffed him to the car door-his own aversion to sitting in a non-air-conditioned metal box for hours meshing nicely with his suspect’s request to stand. Though Winchester’s height may have been the motivating factor in that request-it was going to be a tight squeeze when they left for the Jackson station. All in all, however, letting Winchester stay outside the car only made him look sympathetic to Winchester.
“Stanford?” he asked Winchester conversationally. “Why’d you choose a school in California?”
Winchester blinked. “The weather mostly. Lived most my life in the Mid-West and wanted something as different as possible,” he replied slowly. “That and they offered me a full-ride.”
“What were you studying?” Rossi asked idly, scanning the forest for signs of movement.
“I thought you guys had our file?” Winchester asked in response.
Rossi shrugged lazily, “Honestly? I thought you were really dead.” At Winchester’s surprised look, he said, “It was the only reason I could think of that your brother would let himself get taken in like that.”
Winchester stared at him blankly. “Dean’s not the guy you think he is,” he started hesitantly. “He’s a good guy,” he stated emphatically.
“And what about you Sam?” Rossi asked curiously. “Are you a good guy too?”
Winchester’s face darkened for a moment, but before he could answer Morgan and JJ emerged from the woods. Rossi checked the cuffs linking Winchester to the car door before walking over to join his teammates. The sound of thunder rumbled again, but when he looked up the night sky was clear.
“What did you find?” he asked impatiently.
JJ and Morgan looked at the ground, at the sky, at each other-everywhere but towards Rossi. Finally JJ broke and said, “We found Officer Campbell and taped the scene off. But it doesn’t look like Winchester killed her-it looks like she was mauled and there’s not enough blood on Winchester.”
“There was,” Morgan added smoothly, “a significant amount of blood on Ranger Ross’ body that doesn’t look like it came from the gun wound. I’m thinking the Winchester brothers might be more mission-oriented killers than we thought.”
“Vigilante?” Rossi asked after a beat. Another roll of thunder filled the night air and a few clouds were rapidly arriving from the southeast.
“Yup,” Morgan replied. “Looks like Winchester might have seen Ross torture and kill Campbell and decided to enact some quick justice of his own.”
“Might explain his insistence that his brother is a good guy, and his own conflict over himself,” Rossi mused. “I asked him earlier if he was also a good guy and he didn’t have the same conviction as your typical mission-based killer.”
“Maybe that time away from the family helped open his eyes,” Morgan theorized.
Before Rossi could agree a crack of lightening tore through the air. A bright light flashed and ruined Rossi’s night vision. He spent a few desperate moments blinking rapidly, “What is going on with the weather?” he asked irritably.
Winchester started shouting at them, tugging violently against his restraints. “It’s here! Shoot it! Shoot it!” He pointed with his free hand to a large dark shape circling the parking lot.
“It’s a bird!” Morgan replied testily. “Hold your horses.”
“It isn’t Caroll Fucking Spinney,” Winchester argued hotly. “Weren’t you listening earlier? It’s a Thunderbird, it’s going to eat us like it did that police officer if you don’t kill it now!”
Before Rossi could intervene, the bird threw back its head and shrieked loudly. A flash of lightning hit the pavement in between Rossi and the SUV Sam Winchester was handcuffed to. The dark shape circled the parking lot again, slowly dropping in altitude. It threw back its head and lightning struck again. It hit a shrub at the edge of the lot, which promptly burst into flames.
Now that it was closer, Rossi could truly appreciate its massive size. Its wingspan must have been over fifteen feet, but it was hard to see other specific characteristics of the dark bird against the storm clouds that had rushed in.
“This is some messed up weather,” Morgan commented shakily. “I can almost understand how people used to think it was controlled by the gods.”
Winchester was still shouting though the low rumble of thunder masked his words. It was odd, Rossi thought, how the thunder seemed to match the beating of the giant bird’s wings. The bird threw its head back once more, and Rossi would swear to its dying day that it was targeting him, and the sharp crackle of lightning filled the air.
The lightning bolt had hit not two feet in front of him.
“Holy crap,” JJ whispered as she unholstered her gun. “I think the bird is causing it,” she exclaimed softly.
“You’re crazy,” Morgan replied. “Birds don’t control the weather, calm down. It’s just a flash thunderstorm.” He looked to Rossi for support, but the older man was busy aiming to respond.
BANG!
JJ fired her gun once. The bird reacted oddly the loud sounds. Rather than be startled or start to fly away, it turned mid-loop and flapped its giant wings once. Thunder once again filled the air.
It dove towards the second SUV and landed heavily on its roof. It’s claws gorging deep scratches into its metal roof. It flapped its wings twice, slowly starting to rise-and the SUV began to rise with it.
That was enough for Rossi; he started to fire, his bullets mixing in with Morgan’s and JJ’s as they aimed for the monstrous bird. Their bullets didn’t seem to have an immediate impact. The bird and SUV continued to rise another five feet, then started in their direction.
“Keep firing!” he directed JJ and Morgan frantically. He replaced his clip and continued to shoot.
The bird dropped the SUV and started to throw back its head once more. The SUV landed heavily on its wheels, the tires exploding from the unexpected impact onto the sharp gravel.
Three shots hit the bird’s head simultaneously. It dropped from the air, hitting the ground heavily on top of the wreckage of the SUV. Glass exploded in all directions and the doors popped off their hinges with loud groans.
“Now do you believe me?” Sam Winchester’s voice rang out across the suddenly still night.
Morgan snorted, “It was a rabid bird Winchester. Don’t work yourself up about it.”
“Then how do you explain the fact that the weather’s cleared?” Winchester responded. “A Thunderbird controls the weather, now that Davis is dead the storm’s gone.”
Davis? Rossi mouthed to JJ, confused as to how their previously arrested arsonist had anything to do with the night’s activities.
“Winchester thinks that Davis is a Thunderbird, some sort Native American mythological creature. They eat people,” she explained quietly. “Apparently Ranger Ross was its mate.”
Morgan was getting frustrated, “Winchester, it was a bird. Birds are not evil, they’re not monsters, they’re just animals.”
“Fine,” Winchester snorted. “But do me a favor, go look at the body.”
The SUV had been destroyed, first from its drop, then from the body of the bird dropping on top of it. Rossi and Morgan moved warily around the torn pieces of metal, the shattered glass, and the odd piece of mirror. Despite everything, the body of the car was relatively intact. Stepping up, they glanced over the top of the roof.
Henry Davis lay crumpled on the roof, his body riddled with bullets.
* * * * * *
Reid was back in the main office of the Jackson police station, idly turning in the swivel chair he had co-opted earlier in the night. After Davis had escaped from his cell, he had started making phone calls, first to Chief Robert then to JJ. While JJ’s phone had gone straight to voicemail, Chief Robert had promised to call in the night shift early to help clean up and swore he’d be back at the station soon.
Reid hadn’t made up his mind to believe Winchester. On the one hand, the man was right about demons walking the Earth, on the other hand-their arsonist was a were-bird? It tested the limits of Reid’s not-inconsiderable imagination.
Hotch was talking quietly to Prentiss in the corner, leaving Reid to watch Winchester. The man had been re-cuffed and was currently mimicking Reid’s movements in a swivel chair of his own.
“I still say my plan wasn’t that bad,” Winchester pouted from across the room.
“You get yourself arrested so you’ll have access to Davis. You were going to what? Kill him, then hope to escape unnoticed?” Reid replied sarcastically.
“Well, Steve McQueen made it look so easy, I thought why not?” Winchester said. “The plan was pretty good, just hit a few snags.”
“Didn’t expect us to still be here?” Reid asked.
“Yup,” Winchester confirmed ruefully. “Pretty crappy timing really. Don’t you guys normally fly off into the sunset after you catch the bad guy?”
“Doesn’t quite work like that. We were supposed to leave,” Reid checked his watch, “about five hours ago. But then Hotch made the positive identification and our plans changed.”
Reid leaned forward in his chair, “A shape shifter really killed those women in St. Louis?” he asked intently.
“Yeah, we’ve run into a couple of them over the year. They can take anyone’s shape, but they have to shed their skin every couple of days, usually take a new shape at the same time,” Winchester explained.
“But how do you know someone’s a shape shifter?”
“Their eyes flash when exposed to the light. Best way is catch ‘em on camera, but any light will do.”
“What really happened to the shape shifter in St. Louis?” Reid asked.
“It was wearing my face when it decided to carve up Becky. The cops shot at it a couple times, but regular bullets won’t kill the things-you need a silver bullet to the heart for shape shifters. I found it in the sewers after the cops screwed up, shot it, then got the hell out of dodge,” Winchester explained.
“Why silver?” Reid asked, his mind instantly going through the information he knew about the element. While the Ancient Greeks ascribed healing powers to the metal, modern astrologers believed silver to be the element of the moon. Maybe shape shifters, like werewolves if the stories were to be believed, were somehow in thrall of the moon-thus its earthly equivalent, silver, could hurt them?
“Hell if I know,” Winchester replied. “It just works.”
Reid had started peppering Winchester with questions on the veracity of movie and literary monster myths (and their methods of destruction) when the rest of his team walked in with a large man following, he looked vaguely familiar but Reid couldn’t place his face.
“JJ,” he cried out. “We tried calling you earlier but…” he trailed off having belatedly recognized the tall man.
“Sammy!” Winchester exclaimed. “What the hell dude?”
“Dean, your plans suck,” Sam Winchester muttered. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Oh shut it bitch face, my plans rock. You’re the one who screwed up,” Winchester replied, spinning around on his chair idly.
“Reid,” Rossi said, leaning down. “Why is Dean Winchester in the office? And not restrained?”
“He’s handcuffed!” Reid protested. “And, um, he’s here because there was an incident in the interrogation room. And the holding cells. It was here or lock him in Chief Robert’s office-and since he’s escaped from custody before, I thought it was better here in plain sight.”
Rossi had apparently been appeased with his less than detailed explanation and walked off, presumably to press Hotch for more specifics.
The Winchester brothers ignored Rossi’s exit and continued to talk. “Meg? Really?” Sam asked.
“I know, apparently it’s pretty easy to get up here now,” Dean replied.
“Why was she here? And how’d you get rid of her?” Sam asked after finding an office chair of his own.
The two brothers looked entirely too unconcerned with their surroundings and their restraints for Reid’s comfort. They were loose limbed, each spreading out over a borrowed office chair. Dean had stopped spinning and put his boots onto a desk. Reid glanced at the nameplate quickly, Officer Brown was going to have to rewrite that report-it was now covered with grit.
“Well Sammy, in between having my face pounded in and getting tossed around I didn’t really have time to ask Meg what her social calendar looked like for the rest of the week,” Dean replied snidely.
“Hey asswipe, I just had to deal with BOTH of the Thunderbirds due to your brilliant plan, so cut me some slack and tell me what went down with Meg,” Sam snarled.
Morgan and JJ had joined Reid in observing the brother’s behavior. Reid leaned towards JJ and asked quietly, “Is this how your brothers act with each other?”
“Sort of,” she replied. “Eddie and Andy give each other flack like this, but Andy and Simon mostly kid around-not as much name calling.”
Reid remembered the one, and if he could possibly help it, only time he had met JJ’s family. The boisterous group had only been at partial-strength with her sister Anne missing Henry’s welcoming party due to her own sick child, but they were still overwhelming. And Reid hadn’t even been on the receiving end of most of the attention-that was a special honor reserved for Will, who had to endure a “talk” with JJ’s older brothers about his intentions towards JJ and Henry.
“Fine jerk,” Winchester was saying. “Meg was riding Agent Prentiss over there.”
Morgan and JJ startled at this new information, and Reid nodded slowly. He held up a hand to ward off their questions, he wanted to how Dean explained the evening’s events to his brother. Beyond the basic “demons are real and want to kill you” explanation, Reid had mostly been left in the dark. Maybe Dean would slip in some more information while explaining.
“Anyway, she and Agent Stick-Up-His-Ass were questioning me when I realized her questions were a little too pointed. So I doused her with holy water. She didn’t like that too much, things got a bit hairy,” Winchester explained. “Luckily Anna decided to stop by and have the mother of all cat fights with Prentiss.” He closed his eyes and smiled dreamily for a second.
“She, Anna, not Prentiss, also decided to give me a sword,” he added as an afterthought, nodding over to Reid who lifted it obligingly.” It has a fancy name and everything-Ascalon, is what she called it. Of course, Twiggy over there won’t let me hold on to it. He claims its ‘cause I’m dangerous, but honestly I think he just wants to play with it a bit.”
* * * * * *
“So what are we going to do about the Winchesters?” Rossi asked Hotch, dropping into the empty chair next to Prentiss heavily. At their raised eyebrows, he shrugged. “I spent the evening killing a bird that controlled the weather that turned out to be Henry Davis. And I hear you both had an…enlightening evening yourselves.”
“They may be guilty of some of the lesser charges,” Prentiss added, “but I’m of the mind to believe Winchester when he says he didn’t kill those women in St. Louis.”
She paused a moment, “And if they annoy all demons like they did tonight, then they’ve done a lot of good. Should we really lock them up for that?”
Hotch frowned pensively. On the one hand the brothers appeared to do quite a bit of good, on the other hand, they were vigilantes at best, who would kill without hesitation if they believed a monster was responsible. Given the skill necessary to identify monsters, they did what traditional law enforcement was unable to.
But what happened when they encountered human criminals? Would they be able to leave them to the justice system? Or would their contempt of law officers lead them to take care of the problem themselves?
“We don’t get to choose the laws we want to enforce and the ones we don’t,” he finally replied. “We keep them in custody.”
* * * * * *
“Who the hell is Anna? And Meg? And how was Meg riding Prentiss? What the hell happened here tonight anyway?” Morgan burst out, interrupted the brothers’ reunion suddenly.
Both Winchesters ignored him. “So you killed both of ‘em?” Dean asked his brother intently.
“I got the mate, and it was the Park Ranger-you totally owe me ten bucks-and those three killed Davis,” responded the younger brother. “And yeah, this plan worked great Dean. Weren’t you supposed to be responsible for Davis?”
Sam continued on, aggrieved, “Of course, Agent Morgan spent more of the ride back here telling me it was all some kind of trick and there’s a rational explanation for everything.”
“He killed a giant bird that shoots lightning out of its mouth, watched it turn into a human, and thinks it was a trick of the light?” Dean asked exasperatedly. He turned to Morgan, “Here’s your rational explanation: monsters are real, demons exist, every baddie from fairy tales, movies, and books is real and most likely will try to eat you.”
“Don’t forget that angels are real,” Sam Winchester added.
“Right!” his brother responded. “But they’re a lot douchier than Roma Downey led us to expect.”
Morgan and JJ recoiled.
“It’s true,” Prentiss told her colleagues as she crossed the room, apparently having overheard the brothers’ conversation. “God help us, it’s all true.”
“God’s left the building sweetheart,” Dean replied with a bitter smile. “Apparently it’s us apes, monsters, and angels stumbling around.”
“I can’t believe that,” Rossi said entering the conversation. “ How can there be angels if there’s no God?”
“Didn’t say he doesn’t exist,” Dean protested. “Just that he’s apparently pulled a fast one on us and disappeared.”
Before Rossi could respond to this latest bombshell, Sam Winchester asked, “But why was Meg here? And did Anna say anything about Cas?”
“Just that he’s indisposed,” Dean replied disgustedly. “Which could mean anything from he’s back in angel indoctrination camp to locked up forever.” He paused briefly, a frown marring his face and making him appear decades older. “As for Meg? No clue why she was in town. Though Anna made some crack about practicing…” he trailed off.
“You think she knows something?” Sam asked.
“Wouldn’t be the first time she’s dropped by to say something spooky then disappear without really helping,” Dean replied.
* * * * * *
A loud scream followed by a worrying crash interrupted further discussion between the brothers. Hotch pulled his gun on both Winchester brothers, then chained each one to a desk to ensure they’d stay put. He told Reid and JJ to keep on eye on both of them as he borrowed Reid’s pistol. He had emptied his clip earlier in the evening and the emergency weapons locker was locked until Captain Robert returned.
As he ran towards the front entrance, Sam Winchester’s voice followed him, “What if we can help you?”
He met up with his team outside the front door. There were two new cars joining his team’s mini-fleet of black SUVs, both older model American sedans-most likely the arriving night shift’s vehicles.
“Where are they?” Morgan asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Hotch joined Prentiss and Rossi in inspecting the cars.
“No signs of a struggle here,” Prentiss reported as she examined the red sedan.
“None here, but get this,” Rossi replied. “The doors are unlocked.”
“What kind of cop doesn’t lock his car?” Morgan asked curiously.
If Hotch hadn’t had one of the craziest nights he could remember, he doubted he would have spotted it in the dark. The adrenaline had been flowing steadily for hours now, and Hotch doubted he could relax if he tried at this point.
“I don’t think they had the chance,” he said slowly. “I think we’ve got blood over here.” He pointed down to a small trail of dark droplets leading away from both cars around the side of the station.
They rounded the corner cautiously.
“We’ve got company,” Morgan announced unnecessarily.
Sitting in dirt was a giant lizard, or perhaps a dragon given the way Hotch’s day had been going, chewing enthusiastically. A leg dangled from between two massive teeth, Hotch noticed uneasily. He signaled for a retreat and started slowly backing up.
They had only moved a few steps before the thing took notice of them. A car had entered the parking lot and the sound of the motor disturbed the creature’s feast. It looked up eagerly as it heard a car door slam. Hotch prayed that it hadn’t formed a Pavlovian response to car doors and mealtime. It rose to its feet slowly and started towards them, its tongue flickering in and out and it moved surprisingly quickly.
Hotch had rather hoped its size would prohibit quick movements, but then again, this wasn’t his night.
He started to backpedal faster, unwilling to turn his back on this new threat.
“Holy crap!” A voice rang out. “What the hell is that thing?”
Captain Robert stood outside his squad car in shock. He hadn’t pulled his gun, merely stood in disbelief at the behemoth rapidly approaching. Unfortunately for Captain Robert, the creature didn’t share his sense of awe. Bypassing the four agents easily, knocking them off their feet in the process, it reached the dedicated officer in a few steps.
It leaned down and started to bite before the man had a chance to let out a second terrified scream.
The front doors burst open and the Winchester brothers appeared, guns drawn, and in Dean’s case carrying a sword as well. Neither wasted any time opening fire on the giant lizard, though it only seemed to make it angry.
“What are you waiting for?” Sam yelled angrily, “Shoot it!”
“Is that the only phrase this kid knows?” Morgan grumbled as he unholstered his gun for the second time this evening.
The gunfire was certainly affecting the monster, but sadly it didn’t look to be weakening the creature. If anything, Hotch guessed it was getting angry. It charged at the brothers, causing both to jump out of the way to avoid harm. They landed on opposite sides on the doorway and continued to shoot steadily.
The monster thrashed its tail angrily, denting the side of one of the parked car as it backed away from the front entrance.
“What the hell is this thing?” Hotch asked Sam Winchester, who had taken a defensive position near him.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Winchester responded, never pausing in his steady shots. “I think it might be a Diyahali though. It certainly eats people and looks enough like a giant lizard for the Cherokee to give it that description.”
“How do you kill it?” Rossi yelled from his position behind Captain Robert’s squad car.
“Shoot it?” Sam Winchester replied uncertainly. “That works pretty often.”
“Not that I’m not grateful for the backup,” Hotch began. “But how did you two get out of those cuffs?”
Sam grinned unrepentantly. “Dean and I have been able to pick locks since we could read. Wasn’t too much harder to pick the armory lock after we were free. Oops, time to move,” he interrupted himself as the Diyahali rushed towards them. They ran from their position behind the concrete stairs to join Rossi behind the grey sedan.
The Diyahali nudged the car with it nose repeatedly, each time pushing the groaning vehicle back a few feet. It looked like an oversized kitten trying to get at a few mice in a corner, Hotch thought hysterically as the lizard continued to destroy his cover.
Dean shouted from across the parking lot. “Hey ugly!” He waved his arms as the lizard turned its attention to the new sounds, “That’s right, I’m talking to you, you wannabe Godzilla! What are you standing around for?”
The Diyahali turned rapidly and started towards Dean, and Morgan and Prentiss by default. Its tail hit the remains of the car as it turned, tossing it into the air and over the Hotch’s head. It hit the station wall with a clash and fell to Earth. Hotch grabbed Sam’s arm and ran, pulling the massive man with him.
Dean had evidently liberated an assault rifle while escaping from federal custody and wasn’t holding back. He emptied a clip on the rapidly approaching beast. It roared in anger as a few of the shots connected to soft tissue.
It reared back on it haunches and swiped at him with a massive claw. Dean ducked, and started to run back towards the entrance of the station. Morgan and Prentiss cut the other direction to meet up with Hotch.
“Hotch!” Morgan cried. “We’re out of ammunition, you got an extra clip on you?”
Before Hotch could answer, the Diyahali bore down on them. It had evidently decided to go for the gathered agents rather than the running felon. It barreled into Morgan, tossing him carelessly in the air. He landed heavily ten feet away.
Morgan didn’t move.
Part Five
Unlike his wisecracking brother, Sam Winchester was soft-spoken and serious. Rossi had handcuffed him to the car door-his own aversion to sitting in a non-air-conditioned metal box for hours meshing nicely with his suspect’s request to stand. Though Winchester’s height may have been the motivating factor in that request-it was going to be a tight squeeze when they left for the Jackson station. All in all, however, letting Winchester stay outside the car only made him look sympathetic to Winchester.
“Stanford?” he asked Winchester conversationally. “Why’d you choose a school in California?”
Winchester blinked. “The weather mostly. Lived most my life in the Mid-West and wanted something as different as possible,” he replied slowly. “That and they offered me a full-ride.”
“What were you studying?” Rossi asked idly, scanning the forest for signs of movement.
“I thought you guys had our file?” Winchester asked in response.
Rossi shrugged lazily, “Honestly? I thought you were really dead.” At Winchester’s surprised look, he said, “It was the only reason I could think of that your brother would let himself get taken in like that.”
Winchester stared at him blankly. “Dean’s not the guy you think he is,” he started hesitantly. “He’s a good guy,” he stated emphatically.
“And what about you Sam?” Rossi asked curiously. “Are you a good guy too?”
Winchester’s face darkened for a moment, but before he could answer Morgan and JJ emerged from the woods. Rossi checked the cuffs linking Winchester to the car door before walking over to join his teammates. The sound of thunder rumbled again, but when he looked up the night sky was clear.
“What did you find?” he asked impatiently.
JJ and Morgan looked at the ground, at the sky, at each other-everywhere but towards Rossi. Finally JJ broke and said, “We found Officer Campbell and taped the scene off. But it doesn’t look like Winchester killed her-it looks like she was mauled and there’s not enough blood on Winchester.”
“There was,” Morgan added smoothly, “a significant amount of blood on Ranger Ross’ body that doesn’t look like it came from the gun wound. I’m thinking the Winchester brothers might be more mission-oriented killers than we thought.”
“Vigilante?” Rossi asked after a beat. Another roll of thunder filled the night air and a few clouds were rapidly arriving from the southeast.
“Yup,” Morgan replied. “Looks like Winchester might have seen Ross torture and kill Campbell and decided to enact some quick justice of his own.”
“Might explain his insistence that his brother is a good guy, and his own conflict over himself,” Rossi mused. “I asked him earlier if he was also a good guy and he didn’t have the same conviction as your typical mission-based killer.”
“Maybe that time away from the family helped open his eyes,” Morgan theorized.
Before Rossi could agree a crack of lightening tore through the air. A bright light flashed and ruined Rossi’s night vision. He spent a few desperate moments blinking rapidly, “What is going on with the weather?” he asked irritably.
Winchester started shouting at them, tugging violently against his restraints. “It’s here! Shoot it! Shoot it!” He pointed with his free hand to a large dark shape circling the parking lot.
“It’s a bird!” Morgan replied testily. “Hold your horses.”
“It isn’t Caroll Fucking Spinney,” Winchester argued hotly. “Weren’t you listening earlier? It’s a Thunderbird, it’s going to eat us like it did that police officer if you don’t kill it now!”
Before Rossi could intervene, the bird threw back its head and shrieked loudly. A flash of lightning hit the pavement in between Rossi and the SUV Sam Winchester was handcuffed to. The dark shape circled the parking lot again, slowly dropping in altitude. It threw back its head and lightning struck again. It hit a shrub at the edge of the lot, which promptly burst into flames.
Now that it was closer, Rossi could truly appreciate its massive size. Its wingspan must have been over fifteen feet, but it was hard to see other specific characteristics of the dark bird against the storm clouds that had rushed in.
“This is some messed up weather,” Morgan commented shakily. “I can almost understand how people used to think it was controlled by the gods.”
Winchester was still shouting though the low rumble of thunder masked his words. It was odd, Rossi thought, how the thunder seemed to match the beating of the giant bird’s wings. The bird threw its head back once more, and Rossi would swear to its dying day that it was targeting him, and the sharp crackle of lightning filled the air.
The lightning bolt had hit not two feet in front of him.
“Holy crap,” JJ whispered as she unholstered her gun. “I think the bird is causing it,” she exclaimed softly.
“You’re crazy,” Morgan replied. “Birds don’t control the weather, calm down. It’s just a flash thunderstorm.” He looked to Rossi for support, but the older man was busy aiming to respond.
BANG!
JJ fired her gun once. The bird reacted oddly the loud sounds. Rather than be startled or start to fly away, it turned mid-loop and flapped its giant wings once. Thunder once again filled the air.
It dove towards the second SUV and landed heavily on its roof. It’s claws gorging deep scratches into its metal roof. It flapped its wings twice, slowly starting to rise-and the SUV began to rise with it.
That was enough for Rossi; he started to fire, his bullets mixing in with Morgan’s and JJ’s as they aimed for the monstrous bird. Their bullets didn’t seem to have an immediate impact. The bird and SUV continued to rise another five feet, then started in their direction.
“Keep firing!” he directed JJ and Morgan frantically. He replaced his clip and continued to shoot.
The bird dropped the SUV and started to throw back its head once more. The SUV landed heavily on its wheels, the tires exploding from the unexpected impact onto the sharp gravel.
Three shots hit the bird’s head simultaneously. It dropped from the air, hitting the ground heavily on top of the wreckage of the SUV. Glass exploded in all directions and the doors popped off their hinges with loud groans.
“Now do you believe me?” Sam Winchester’s voice rang out across the suddenly still night.
Morgan snorted, “It was a rabid bird Winchester. Don’t work yourself up about it.”
“Then how do you explain the fact that the weather’s cleared?” Winchester responded. “A Thunderbird controls the weather, now that Davis is dead the storm’s gone.”
Davis? Rossi mouthed to JJ, confused as to how their previously arrested arsonist had anything to do with the night’s activities.
“Winchester thinks that Davis is a Thunderbird, some sort Native American mythological creature. They eat people,” she explained quietly. “Apparently Ranger Ross was its mate.”
Morgan was getting frustrated, “Winchester, it was a bird. Birds are not evil, they’re not monsters, they’re just animals.”
“Fine,” Winchester snorted. “But do me a favor, go look at the body.”
The SUV had been destroyed, first from its drop, then from the body of the bird dropping on top of it. Rossi and Morgan moved warily around the torn pieces of metal, the shattered glass, and the odd piece of mirror. Despite everything, the body of the car was relatively intact. Stepping up, they glanced over the top of the roof.
Henry Davis lay crumpled on the roof, his body riddled with bullets.
* * * * * *
Reid was back in the main office of the Jackson police station, idly turning in the swivel chair he had co-opted earlier in the night. After Davis had escaped from his cell, he had started making phone calls, first to Chief Robert then to JJ. While JJ’s phone had gone straight to voicemail, Chief Robert had promised to call in the night shift early to help clean up and swore he’d be back at the station soon.
Reid hadn’t made up his mind to believe Winchester. On the one hand, the man was right about demons walking the Earth, on the other hand-their arsonist was a were-bird? It tested the limits of Reid’s not-inconsiderable imagination.
Hotch was talking quietly to Prentiss in the corner, leaving Reid to watch Winchester. The man had been re-cuffed and was currently mimicking Reid’s movements in a swivel chair of his own.
“I still say my plan wasn’t that bad,” Winchester pouted from across the room.
“You get yourself arrested so you’ll have access to Davis. You were going to what? Kill him, then hope to escape unnoticed?” Reid replied sarcastically.
“Well, Steve McQueen made it look so easy, I thought why not?” Winchester said. “The plan was pretty good, just hit a few snags.”
“Didn’t expect us to still be here?” Reid asked.
“Yup,” Winchester confirmed ruefully. “Pretty crappy timing really. Don’t you guys normally fly off into the sunset after you catch the bad guy?”
“Doesn’t quite work like that. We were supposed to leave,” Reid checked his watch, “about five hours ago. But then Hotch made the positive identification and our plans changed.”
Reid leaned forward in his chair, “A shape shifter really killed those women in St. Louis?” he asked intently.
“Yeah, we’ve run into a couple of them over the year. They can take anyone’s shape, but they have to shed their skin every couple of days, usually take a new shape at the same time,” Winchester explained.
“But how do you know someone’s a shape shifter?”
“Their eyes flash when exposed to the light. Best way is catch ‘em on camera, but any light will do.”
“What really happened to the shape shifter in St. Louis?” Reid asked.
“It was wearing my face when it decided to carve up Becky. The cops shot at it a couple times, but regular bullets won’t kill the things-you need a silver bullet to the heart for shape shifters. I found it in the sewers after the cops screwed up, shot it, then got the hell out of dodge,” Winchester explained.
“Why silver?” Reid asked, his mind instantly going through the information he knew about the element. While the Ancient Greeks ascribed healing powers to the metal, modern astrologers believed silver to be the element of the moon. Maybe shape shifters, like werewolves if the stories were to be believed, were somehow in thrall of the moon-thus its earthly equivalent, silver, could hurt them?
“Hell if I know,” Winchester replied. “It just works.”
Reid had started peppering Winchester with questions on the veracity of movie and literary monster myths (and their methods of destruction) when the rest of his team walked in with a large man following, he looked vaguely familiar but Reid couldn’t place his face.
“JJ,” he cried out. “We tried calling you earlier but…” he trailed off having belatedly recognized the tall man.
“Sammy!” Winchester exclaimed. “What the hell dude?”
“Dean, your plans suck,” Sam Winchester muttered. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Oh shut it bitch face, my plans rock. You’re the one who screwed up,” Winchester replied, spinning around on his chair idly.
“Reid,” Rossi said, leaning down. “Why is Dean Winchester in the office? And not restrained?”
“He’s handcuffed!” Reid protested. “And, um, he’s here because there was an incident in the interrogation room. And the holding cells. It was here or lock him in Chief Robert’s office-and since he’s escaped from custody before, I thought it was better here in plain sight.”
Rossi had apparently been appeased with his less than detailed explanation and walked off, presumably to press Hotch for more specifics.
The Winchester brothers ignored Rossi’s exit and continued to talk. “Meg? Really?” Sam asked.
“I know, apparently it’s pretty easy to get up here now,” Dean replied.
“Why was she here? And how’d you get rid of her?” Sam asked after finding an office chair of his own.
The two brothers looked entirely too unconcerned with their surroundings and their restraints for Reid’s comfort. They were loose limbed, each spreading out over a borrowed office chair. Dean had stopped spinning and put his boots onto a desk. Reid glanced at the nameplate quickly, Officer Brown was going to have to rewrite that report-it was now covered with grit.
“Well Sammy, in between having my face pounded in and getting tossed around I didn’t really have time to ask Meg what her social calendar looked like for the rest of the week,” Dean replied snidely.
“Hey asswipe, I just had to deal with BOTH of the Thunderbirds due to your brilliant plan, so cut me some slack and tell me what went down with Meg,” Sam snarled.
Morgan and JJ had joined Reid in observing the brother’s behavior. Reid leaned towards JJ and asked quietly, “Is this how your brothers act with each other?”
“Sort of,” she replied. “Eddie and Andy give each other flack like this, but Andy and Simon mostly kid around-not as much name calling.”
Reid remembered the one, and if he could possibly help it, only time he had met JJ’s family. The boisterous group had only been at partial-strength with her sister Anne missing Henry’s welcoming party due to her own sick child, but they were still overwhelming. And Reid hadn’t even been on the receiving end of most of the attention-that was a special honor reserved for Will, who had to endure a “talk” with JJ’s older brothers about his intentions towards JJ and Henry.
“Fine jerk,” Winchester was saying. “Meg was riding Agent Prentiss over there.”
Morgan and JJ startled at this new information, and Reid nodded slowly. He held up a hand to ward off their questions, he wanted to how Dean explained the evening’s events to his brother. Beyond the basic “demons are real and want to kill you” explanation, Reid had mostly been left in the dark. Maybe Dean would slip in some more information while explaining.
“Anyway, she and Agent Stick-Up-His-Ass were questioning me when I realized her questions were a little too pointed. So I doused her with holy water. She didn’t like that too much, things got a bit hairy,” Winchester explained. “Luckily Anna decided to stop by and have the mother of all cat fights with Prentiss.” He closed his eyes and smiled dreamily for a second.
“She, Anna, not Prentiss, also decided to give me a sword,” he added as an afterthought, nodding over to Reid who lifted it obligingly.” It has a fancy name and everything-Ascalon, is what she called it. Of course, Twiggy over there won’t let me hold on to it. He claims its ‘cause I’m dangerous, but honestly I think he just wants to play with it a bit.”
* * * * * *
“So what are we going to do about the Winchesters?” Rossi asked Hotch, dropping into the empty chair next to Prentiss heavily. At their raised eyebrows, he shrugged. “I spent the evening killing a bird that controlled the weather that turned out to be Henry Davis. And I hear you both had an…enlightening evening yourselves.”
“They may be guilty of some of the lesser charges,” Prentiss added, “but I’m of the mind to believe Winchester when he says he didn’t kill those women in St. Louis.”
She paused a moment, “And if they annoy all demons like they did tonight, then they’ve done a lot of good. Should we really lock them up for that?”
Hotch frowned pensively. On the one hand the brothers appeared to do quite a bit of good, on the other hand, they were vigilantes at best, who would kill without hesitation if they believed a monster was responsible. Given the skill necessary to identify monsters, they did what traditional law enforcement was unable to.
But what happened when they encountered human criminals? Would they be able to leave them to the justice system? Or would their contempt of law officers lead them to take care of the problem themselves?
“We don’t get to choose the laws we want to enforce and the ones we don’t,” he finally replied. “We keep them in custody.”
* * * * * *
“Who the hell is Anna? And Meg? And how was Meg riding Prentiss? What the hell happened here tonight anyway?” Morgan burst out, interrupted the brothers’ reunion suddenly.
Both Winchesters ignored him. “So you killed both of ‘em?” Dean asked his brother intently.
“I got the mate, and it was the Park Ranger-you totally owe me ten bucks-and those three killed Davis,” responded the younger brother. “And yeah, this plan worked great Dean. Weren’t you supposed to be responsible for Davis?”
Sam continued on, aggrieved, “Of course, Agent Morgan spent more of the ride back here telling me it was all some kind of trick and there’s a rational explanation for everything.”
“He killed a giant bird that shoots lightning out of its mouth, watched it turn into a human, and thinks it was a trick of the light?” Dean asked exasperatedly. He turned to Morgan, “Here’s your rational explanation: monsters are real, demons exist, every baddie from fairy tales, movies, and books is real and most likely will try to eat you.”
“Don’t forget that angels are real,” Sam Winchester added.
“Right!” his brother responded. “But they’re a lot douchier than Roma Downey led us to expect.”
Morgan and JJ recoiled.
“It’s true,” Prentiss told her colleagues as she crossed the room, apparently having overheard the brothers’ conversation. “God help us, it’s all true.”
“God’s left the building sweetheart,” Dean replied with a bitter smile. “Apparently it’s us apes, monsters, and angels stumbling around.”
“I can’t believe that,” Rossi said entering the conversation. “ How can there be angels if there’s no God?”
“Didn’t say he doesn’t exist,” Dean protested. “Just that he’s apparently pulled a fast one on us and disappeared.”
Before Rossi could respond to this latest bombshell, Sam Winchester asked, “But why was Meg here? And did Anna say anything about Cas?”
“Just that he’s indisposed,” Dean replied disgustedly. “Which could mean anything from he’s back in angel indoctrination camp to locked up forever.” He paused briefly, a frown marring his face and making him appear decades older. “As for Meg? No clue why she was in town. Though Anna made some crack about practicing…” he trailed off.
“You think she knows something?” Sam asked.
“Wouldn’t be the first time she’s dropped by to say something spooky then disappear without really helping,” Dean replied.
* * * * * *
A loud scream followed by a worrying crash interrupted further discussion between the brothers. Hotch pulled his gun on both Winchester brothers, then chained each one to a desk to ensure they’d stay put. He told Reid and JJ to keep on eye on both of them as he borrowed Reid’s pistol. He had emptied his clip earlier in the evening and the emergency weapons locker was locked until Captain Robert returned.
As he ran towards the front entrance, Sam Winchester’s voice followed him, “What if we can help you?”
He met up with his team outside the front door. There were two new cars joining his team’s mini-fleet of black SUVs, both older model American sedans-most likely the arriving night shift’s vehicles.
“Where are they?” Morgan asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Hotch joined Prentiss and Rossi in inspecting the cars.
“No signs of a struggle here,” Prentiss reported as she examined the red sedan.
“None here, but get this,” Rossi replied. “The doors are unlocked.”
“What kind of cop doesn’t lock his car?” Morgan asked curiously.
If Hotch hadn’t had one of the craziest nights he could remember, he doubted he would have spotted it in the dark. The adrenaline had been flowing steadily for hours now, and Hotch doubted he could relax if he tried at this point.
“I don’t think they had the chance,” he said slowly. “I think we’ve got blood over here.” He pointed down to a small trail of dark droplets leading away from both cars around the side of the station.
They rounded the corner cautiously.
“We’ve got company,” Morgan announced unnecessarily.
Sitting in dirt was a giant lizard, or perhaps a dragon given the way Hotch’s day had been going, chewing enthusiastically. A leg dangled from between two massive teeth, Hotch noticed uneasily. He signaled for a retreat and started slowly backing up.
They had only moved a few steps before the thing took notice of them. A car had entered the parking lot and the sound of the motor disturbed the creature’s feast. It looked up eagerly as it heard a car door slam. Hotch prayed that it hadn’t formed a Pavlovian response to car doors and mealtime. It rose to its feet slowly and started towards them, its tongue flickering in and out and it moved surprisingly quickly.
Hotch had rather hoped its size would prohibit quick movements, but then again, this wasn’t his night.
He started to backpedal faster, unwilling to turn his back on this new threat.
“Holy crap!” A voice rang out. “What the hell is that thing?”
Captain Robert stood outside his squad car in shock. He hadn’t pulled his gun, merely stood in disbelief at the behemoth rapidly approaching. Unfortunately for Captain Robert, the creature didn’t share his sense of awe. Bypassing the four agents easily, knocking them off their feet in the process, it reached the dedicated officer in a few steps.
It leaned down and started to bite before the man had a chance to let out a second terrified scream.
The front doors burst open and the Winchester brothers appeared, guns drawn, and in Dean’s case carrying a sword as well. Neither wasted any time opening fire on the giant lizard, though it only seemed to make it angry.
“What are you waiting for?” Sam yelled angrily, “Shoot it!”
“Is that the only phrase this kid knows?” Morgan grumbled as he unholstered his gun for the second time this evening.
The gunfire was certainly affecting the monster, but sadly it didn’t look to be weakening the creature. If anything, Hotch guessed it was getting angry. It charged at the brothers, causing both to jump out of the way to avoid harm. They landed on opposite sides on the doorway and continued to shoot steadily.
The monster thrashed its tail angrily, denting the side of one of the parked car as it backed away from the front entrance.
“What the hell is this thing?” Hotch asked Sam Winchester, who had taken a defensive position near him.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Winchester responded, never pausing in his steady shots. “I think it might be a Diyahali though. It certainly eats people and looks enough like a giant lizard for the Cherokee to give it that description.”
“How do you kill it?” Rossi yelled from his position behind Captain Robert’s squad car.
“Shoot it?” Sam Winchester replied uncertainly. “That works pretty often.”
“Not that I’m not grateful for the backup,” Hotch began. “But how did you two get out of those cuffs?”
Sam grinned unrepentantly. “Dean and I have been able to pick locks since we could read. Wasn’t too much harder to pick the armory lock after we were free. Oops, time to move,” he interrupted himself as the Diyahali rushed towards them. They ran from their position behind the concrete stairs to join Rossi behind the grey sedan.
The Diyahali nudged the car with it nose repeatedly, each time pushing the groaning vehicle back a few feet. It looked like an oversized kitten trying to get at a few mice in a corner, Hotch thought hysterically as the lizard continued to destroy his cover.
Dean shouted from across the parking lot. “Hey ugly!” He waved his arms as the lizard turned its attention to the new sounds, “That’s right, I’m talking to you, you wannabe Godzilla! What are you standing around for?”
The Diyahali turned rapidly and started towards Dean, and Morgan and Prentiss by default. Its tail hit the remains of the car as it turned, tossing it into the air and over the Hotch’s head. It hit the station wall with a clash and fell to Earth. Hotch grabbed Sam’s arm and ran, pulling the massive man with him.
Dean had evidently liberated an assault rifle while escaping from federal custody and wasn’t holding back. He emptied a clip on the rapidly approaching beast. It roared in anger as a few of the shots connected to soft tissue.
It reared back on it haunches and swiped at him with a massive claw. Dean ducked, and started to run back towards the entrance of the station. Morgan and Prentiss cut the other direction to meet up with Hotch.
“Hotch!” Morgan cried. “We’re out of ammunition, you got an extra clip on you?”
Before Hotch could answer, the Diyahali bore down on them. It had evidently decided to go for the gathered agents rather than the running felon. It barreled into Morgan, tossing him carelessly in the air. He landed heavily ten feet away.
Morgan didn’t move.
Part Five