Seven Devils
Chapter 1
I stood in front of the mirror, trying to convince myself that I'd tell my cousins and they'd understand. But, I knew they'd hate me. I mean, becoming a Fed after living as a hunter, that was a low blow, even for me.
I doused my face with water, not nearly as gracefully as on TV commercials, but, at least I got the job done.
I wiped my face with a towel and walked out of the bathroom. I picked up my phone and dialed Dean's number.
"Hello?" Dean answered in his gruff and deep voice.
"Hey, it's Mel." I said.
"Mel, have you found a job yet?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." I said. 'Maybe I shouldn't tell him', I thought. 'Well, here goes'. "I'm gonna work for the FBI."
"What?!" Dean yelled. I covered the phone, afraid my eardrums would explode. A string of cuss words and reasons why I shouldn't followed.
"You done?" I asked.
Dean huffed. "You bet."
"Look, I get that being a Fed is, like, the worst thing in the world for you, but it may actually help, y'know? Like, I could worm my way through things to make sure you don't get arrested, or at least not make the news."
"No."
"It would help to have a real FBI agent to call when you're in a situation. I mean, what if something happened and someone called Bobby and knew who he really was?"
"No."
"Dean, you're being unreasonable."
"No."
"Dean-"
"Dammit, Mel, you aren't becoming a Fed. It's not because of the whole Fed/hunter situation, it's because you wouldn't last a day as an agent. You're a great hunter. Agent? No. Sociopath? Yes."
"I wouldn't be working with a bunch of people. I'd be in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. They're profilers. And you know how scary good I am at reading people. Especially you."
Dean didn't say anything yet. I could practically see his brain spinning at the possibilities. "Okay. But if anything goes wrong, you call me. Immediately."
"Got it. I will be fine, though. Oh, and Dean?"
"Yeah?"
"How much time do you have?"
"Three months."
My heart ached. Six months until he went to hell. Though I was glad Sam was alive, I didn't want to lose Dean. I got Sam back and in return lose Dean.
"I gotta go. I'm gonna shower. Take it easy, Dean. We don't want that expiration date coming any faster than it has to."
"Yes, ma'am. Bye."
"Bye."
I sighed and prepared myself for what was about to happen.
I twirled the pen between my fingers. I was nervous. It was my first day at the BAU. All the technical stuff, paperwork and such, was done. 'Finally.'
I wasn't nervous on terms of performance and firearms and smarts. I was nervous because of my last name. Winchester. The FBI would know that name.
If I was tackled as soon as Aaron Hotchner learned my last name, I wouldn't be surprised. I almost expected it. I pictured myself calling Dean and telling him I was tackled because I was a Winchester. Even if John was my uncle, all remaining Winchesters were classified as dangerous or murderous.
I looked around the office I was in. It was SSA Margaret Stevin's. She wasn't part of the BAU, but she was going to officially introduce me to the team. I knew people saw me as scrawny and weak, but I was hoping for a chance to kick some ass.
Someone knocked on the door. "Mel? It's just me. I have SSA Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi." Margaret said.
The door opened and two men and Margaret came in. I stood up and shook the mens' hands.
"Agents, this is Mel Winchester. She is now a part of your team." Margaret said.
"Winchester? As in Sam and Dean Winchester?" Aaron asked. His hand inched towards his gun.
"Yes, I'm related to them, but I haven't spoken to them in years." I lied.
"Really?" David asked, not buying it.
"Yeah." I said.
"Anyways, she is cleared. Not a single arrest or anything on her rap sheet." She said. 'At least, nothing you can prove'. I smiled at that thought.
"Well, we're about to leave for Florida. We have an arsonist down there terrorizing schools." Aaron said.
"You'll be completely briefed on the plane ride there." David said.
"Plane ride?" I asked, horrified.
"Yes, did you expect us to walk there?" David asked.
"No, it's just-"
"Fear of flying?" I nodded. "It's cool. We've never crashed. Yet."
I gulped. Wonderful. David liked exploiting me. And mocking me. I loved this more and more.
"Well, I will leave you in Agent Hotchner and Rossi's capable hands." Margaret said. As we left, I saw her mouth 'don't hurt her' to Rossi. Rossi mouthed 'I make no promises' back to her. A look of worry passed over Margaret's face.
As we got in the car heading to the airfield, Bobby called me.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, Mel, Dean just told me you plan on becoming an agent. You think you can?"
"I am already one."
"Oh yeah? What's your number?"
I told Bobby my new work phone number so he could use it for cases and such.
"Be careful, profilers deal with monsters too, just not ones you know how to gank." Bobby said.
"Thanks, bye."
"Bye."
"Who was that?" Aaron asked, still suspicious of me.
"Bobby. He's practically my father. He raised me after my dad died."
"So John Winchester didn't raise you?" David asked.
"No. I only saw them when they stopped by Bobby's. Like I said, I haven't spoken to any of them in years. The last time I saw them was on my television as serial killers." I said. I tried hard to believe what I was saying.
It seemed to work. "I'm sorry we accused you. But anyone with the last name Winchester is gonna look suspicious to us." David said.
"Understood. And I'm fine with that. I'm sort of used to it, actually."
As we drove, David gave me the low-down on the case. Sixteen fires had been set in sixteen different schools, one in each school. So far, casualties in each fire. Always in the gym, and always between 1 and 2o'clock. And all within the same city.
David also told me about the other members of the team. Jennifer (JJ) Jareau, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, and Penelope Garcia. So far, I was excited to meet them. I just hoped they wouldn't react the same way Aaron and David had.
But, I had a bad habit of wishfully thinking. Whatever I wanted to happen, usually turns to the opposite. I hope I get good parking at a grocery store, I end up parking in friggin' Siberia.
We got out at an airfield I knew not where. There was a decently sized jet waiting for us there. There were a few other cars there, but all empty. The team must've already been in the jet.
"Let's go." David said. I got out as the car shut off and walked with Aaron and David to the jet. My hands became sweaty as we walked up the stairs to board.
"Team, this is Mel Winchester. Yes, she's related to Dean and Sam Winchester, but has no contact with them. She isn't dangerous." Aaron said as we walked inside the jet.
Derek opened his mouth, probably to ask 'Are you sure she isn't dangerous', but once he saw me thought better of it. I'd much rather them underestimate me than overestimate me.
My phone rang and I looked at the number. I so did not want to talk to him, especially now.
I hit silent and left it be.
"What was that?" Derek asked.
"I just didn't want to talk to an idiot." I said.
"Well, if you want to talk to a genius, Reid's right there." Derek said, pointing to Spencer.
I laughed. "No, seriously." Derek said. "He has an IQ of 186-"
"187." Spencer corrected.
"Whatever. He has eidetic memory and three PHDs." Derek said.
My eyes widened. 'Dang.' "Well, I'm impressed. My brother was smart like you. Not as smart, but still."
"You have a brother?" JJ asked.
"Had. He died." I said, sadness pricking my heart. 'It wasn't my fault' I tried reminding myself.
"I'm sorry. How?" Emily asked.
"Well, my dad, brother and I were in a car and a man lost control of his car, which happened to be an eighteen wheeler, and crashed into us. My brother died on impact. He was in the passenger seat, and I was in the passenger side of the backseat. My dad was okay, though, only a broken arm. But, according to the doctor, I was on all sorts of machines. They were going to take me off life support, but all of a sudden, I was alive. And my dad was dead. No one knows how."
"How old were you?" Aaron asked. 'Great, now they pity me.'
"Seventeen. After that, I went into legal custody of Bobby, a family friend, because on my father's will, he said that if he dies before I turn eighteen, he didn't want John Winchester to take me."
"Really? Even your own family didn't like John and his kids?" David asked.
"Yeah. Plus, he wasn't the greatest father." I said. I was lying, of course. He was pretty great. After all, he sold his soul to save Dean. And then, when Sam died, Dean sold his soul to save Sam.
"Well, I didn't expect you to side with us on the other Winchesters." David said.
"Yeah, well, I'm just full of surprises." I said. I couldn't wait to show them that I wasn't bad at fighting, at least by my standards, which were pretty high.
"Alright, we're about to take off." Aaron said. "Go on and take a seat, Mel."
I nodded. I sat next to Spencer. "So, three PHDs? How old are you?" I asked.
"Twenty six." Spencer said.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Darn it. That means I'm the youngest. I'm twenty four." I said.
"That means you don't get to call me kid." Spencer said to Derek.
Derek scoffed. "No, I still call you kid. I'll just call Mel squirt. Or smalls."
"Don't worry, Mel, he's all talk." Emily assured me, but I wasn't so sure. I didn't mind being called names. Sam and Dean called me names all the time. I was used to it and wasn't offended by it. In fact, in my world, it was meant to show love. Of course, only Sam, Dean, and Bobby did it, so it was family love.
"Alright, so aside from the brother, the Winchesters, and the dad, what else should we know about you?" JJ asked.
I opened my mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "I can't think of anything super important." 'Lie. I was sworn to secrecy, so it wasn't like I could tell them even if I wanted to.'
We all talked about the arsonist after that. So far, the town had a couple suspects, but only a few of them matching the profile we had so far.
The flight itself wasn't bad. Barely any turbulence and was pretty fast. I wasn't nervous at all. We landed quickly and got out. There were vehicles waiting for us.
We piled in and I was saddled with Emily, Derek, and David. We drove to the most recent crime scene. The location of the gym inside the school was completely caved in.
"Oh, my goodness. How many casualties?" I asked no one in particular as soon as we got out.
"Sixty-five and counting." A police officer said. "Sheriff Swanson." He said, shaking all of our hands.
"I'm Agent Morgan, this is Agent Prentiss and Agent Winchester." Derek said.
"Nice to meet you. As I told Agent Winchester, sixty-five deaths that we know of and have identified. Twenty including faculty and staff. The other thirty-five were students. Some as young as thirteen. It's a tragedy." Sheriff Swanson said, his voice breaking.
"Don't worry, we'll find out who did this." Derek said.
"We need to get a list of victims and a look at the crime scene." Emily said.
Sheriff Swanson nodded. "I have a list over here." He said. Emily walked off to talk to him.
"Alright, smalls, don't talk to anyone but me. And don't touch anything without gloves on." Derek said. I nodded. We walked inside.
We followed an officer down a crumbling hallway. The walls were charred and there were pieces of what looked like bones.
"Be careful as you walk through, the ceiling is still unstable." The officer said. There were metal poles holding up the door leading to the gym. Derek and I both ducked under what would've been the doorway.
Once inside, I covered my mouth. There were layers upon layers of ceiling material and bodies. Search and rescue were still looking for people.
"You think the unsub lit the fire from inside?" I asked Derek.
"If he had, survivors would've seen him running. I'll call Emily and see if she'll talk to the witnesses and find out." Derek said. He walked little ways and called Emily.
I walked around and saw a hand sticking out. A strange feeling hollowed my stomach. The hand was moving. I quickly put gloves as, like Derek said to, and pulled the piece covering the other part of the body off.
A disfigured woman lay before me. Part of her leg was submerged in ceiling, but the rest of her was okay, aside from second- and first-degree burns.
I knelt next to her. Her hand shot out and grabbed my arm. Tears fell down her soot covered face.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
She shook her head and started crying.
"What's your name?"
"L-l-lily R-rogers." She managed.
"Alright, Lily, you're going to be okay." I said in a calm voice. "Medic! I need a medic over here!" I yelled.
A man, probably a surgeon or doctor, came over. "Alright, Lily, this man is going to take care of you." I said.
"She's still alive?" The medic asked.
"I guess so. Please try to keep it that way." I said to him.
He nodded. I released Lily's hand and backed away. I watched as the medic started bandaging Lily.
"What happened?" Derek asked.
"I found a survivor. Nothing major." I said.
"Well, good job on the gloves. You're learning." Derek said.
"Thanks."
Derek took a few steps forward. "If I wanted to set a fire in a gym, how would I do it?" He asked aloud.
"Maybe a time bomb. Like an explosion, but specifically meant for fire." I said.
"Maybe. Where would you put it if you wanted to bring down the whole gym?"
I looked around. Then I looked up.
"According to the news, the roof caved in first, killing most of the people. So, fill the air vents with toxic gas, light a match, or set a bomb, you got the perfect fire starter."
"Dang, smalls, I'm impressed. Maybe it's a good thing you're a Winchester." He said. I play-punched his arm.
"So, talk to some of the survivors and see if the air smelled funny or if it was making people cough and stuff to support that theory." I said.
"Let's go." Derek said. We walked back under the doorway and down the hall.
I heard a big creak and saw some dust and stuff fall. "Derek, I think the ceiling's about to fall."
"Hurry!" Derek said. The doorway with the metal poles fell and the rest of the hallway ceiling started falling down on us.
Derek and I both sprinted towards the exit. I felt something big and heavy fall on my leg and I face-planted.
Before I knew it, I was covered. I hurt everywhere. I heard Derek scream, "Mel" before I passed out. My last incoherent thought was, 'I'm dead.'
