Chapter 1: The New Recruit
Scarlett ran through the crowd holding a bag full of food under her arm. She jumped onto the wooden bench and ran across it before jumping over the back. She rounded a corner into an alleyway and pressed her body against the wall. Her two hearts were racing quickly, her lungs were burning from running for while.
"Breakfast time!"
She said with a bright smile. She opened the bag, sat down and started pulling out the food she stole. The smell of the fries and burger filled her nostrils when she inhaled.
She was distracted from eating that she didn't notice a well-known officer come up to her. Scarlett was known as a nuisance around town, because of her thievery.
"Scarlett, again?" The female cop asked with her arms crossed as she stood over Scarlett, looking down. "It's called survival Jody," Scarlett answered with a snarky tone that muffled by the food in her mouth. She inhaled the rest of her food before she wiped her hands on her jeans and stood up ready for the routine. "Come on," Jody said grabbed her, pulling her and opening the backseat door of the police cruiser for Scarlett.
Scarlett was taken down to the police station, she was used to this routine. She would be booked and put into a cell while the Sioux Falls orphanage headmistress would come to pick her up. She sat in a wooden chair with her arms and legs crossed. Her hands were cuffed together as she watched officers walk around taking people in and out. She leaned back in her chair as she looked around.
Scarlett didn't look very well, her skin was pale from barely surviving on the streets. Her black hair was frizzy, tangled and puffy. Her outfit was raggy, dirty and had holes, but she didn't look like a homeless woman. She looked like a runway punk teen instead.
Two men walked into the police station wearing fancy black and blue dress suits. One looked at Jody Mills and walked over to her. Jody stood up from her desk and looked at Scarlett. "Stay here." She said as she walked to greet the two men. The first man had stumble on his face, his dark brown hair was short and shaped. He looked like a model since he seemed to be fit for his age. The other man had almost shoulder length hair that was brushed back. He seemed to be fit as well, but his demeanor was calmer than his partner.
"Hey, Jody." The first man greeted her as he hugged her quickly then let go of her.
"Dean, Sam, I'm glad you came, this case is interesting. Three homeless men with missing hearts sound like your kind of thing." Jody said as she hugged the second man and let go of him. She looked back at Scarlett to make sure she was still in place. She looked back at Sam and Dean.
"Werewolf?" The long-haired man asked and looked at his partner.
"Possibly, we need to see the body." The model-like man answered as he watched Jody. "Who's the punk?"
"She is a frequent here, she steals food from nearby restaurants."
"What's her story?"
"Parents owned an estate which was purposefully burned down, she witnessed everything. She was sent to the Sioux Falls orphanage."
The long-haired man shrugged and looked at her then back at his partner. "Maybe, she saw something or knew these men. May we?" He asked while looking at Scarlett. "You can try, she is stubborn and quite a handful," Jody answered putting her hand on her hip and looking at the duo. Dean fixed his jacket and gave Jody a smirk before approaching Scarlett. "What do you want playboy?" She asked as she watched him approach her. Dean stopped in front of her as his head recoiled in shock at her question. His smirk faded into a frown, he already didn't like her. He gave a scoff, stopping right in front of her and crossed his arms. "How old are you?" He asked in a serious and lightly pissed off tone. "Seventeen," She answered. She crossed her arms the best she could with her cuffed hands. "Have you seen these three men?" Dean asked, holding up three photos of three dead men. Scarlett looked at the photos and then looked back up at Dean. "Depends, what do will I get?" Scarlett asked. Dean paused and looked at her with an impatient expression. He gave a chuckle, a smirk and shook his head sighing, "Do you really think that you have an option of negotiation? This is an FBI Investigation." Dean said pulling and flashing his fake badge in Scarlett's face. Scarlett raised an eyebrow at him before Sam cleared his throat interrupting them and walked up behind Dean, "Agent Gallan, is having a rough time at home. What do you want?" Sam asked calmly as he looked at her.
Scarlett smirked and looked at the three of them. "Get me out of this dump and get me something to eat, then I'll talk." She said in a prideful, confident tone. Jody paused and looked at the brothers then back at Scarlett. "Not happening." She chimed in a stern, serious tone. "If she knows something, then we could take her back with us, she will be fine," Sam assured. Dean stared at Sam with glowering expression. He stood up, pushing the chair back into the desk that was next to him. He fixed his jacket, sighing while he turned to face Jody and Sam. "What do you think you're doing?!" Dean grumbles quietly to Sam. "If she knows where this pack is located, think about the number of lives that we would save." Sam encouraged. Dean groaned and looked back over at Scarlett who was sitting there watching them and waiting for an answer. He turned to Jody with a sullen look on his face. Jody's eyes shifted between the two before she gave a bemoaned sigh, "Alright, but if she pulls ANYTHING. Call me." She pulled out her handcuff keys and unlocked Scarlett. "Don't worry, we will take good care of her, Jody," Sam assured. Scarlett stood up, rubbing her wrists while she shifted her eyes between the three of them.
Dean sighed, "Alright, Sammy. How the hell do we get a seventeen-year-old to talk?" He turned and walked towards the Police station door. He opened it for Sam and Scarlett. Sam put his hand behind Scarlett, but it didn't touch her back. "My name is Sam and that's my brother...Dean." Sam advertised. "I don't care about your personal life, I just want to eat." Scarlett cut off Sam. She walked past Dean and stood on the sidewalk, her skin absorbing the sun high above her. She let out a huff while she waited for the brothers that she was forced to go with. Dean closed the door behind Sam towards his car, which was a 1967 black Impala.
Scarlett watched Dean walked to the driver's side of the vehicle. She walked over to the right side, standing by the backseat next to Sam. "Alright, old man. This is your ride?" She asked looking at the Impala. The Impala was in amazing shape, it seemed to have been refurbished. She looked up at Dean to see an offended look on his face. "We are going to set some ground rules before we leave. First off, enough with the nicknames and the comments. Second, never insult Baby. Ever." Dean barked at her before opening the door, climbing in and starting the engine. Sam looked at her worried before he climbed into the passenger seat next to Dean. Scarlett went quiet before she climbed into the backseat, sitting behind Sam. She looked out the window, while Dean backed up and drove off towards a local diner. Scarlett looked out the window as she leaned against the side of the door. "Where are you taking me?" She asked, her eyes not leaving the window. "A restaurant. You wanted to eat," Dean answered vaguely.
He pulled into the parking lot and put Baby in the park. The entire car slightly swayed from the refurbished parking gear kicking in. "Alright!" Dean groaned opening the door and getting out of the car. He fixed his suit, scanning the area around him before his eyes locked with the door of the diner. Sam followed, getting out of the car and gently slamming the door to avoid being berated for slamming the door. Scarlett looked at the brother, she opened the creaky, loud door and climbed out. "A diner?" Scarlett asked with an enlightened tone. Scarlett was expecting to be taken to a fast food restaurant like the social workers who visited her in the past did. Dean turned and looked at her. "Haven't you been to a diner before?" Dean asked with a scoff. Scarlett shook her head gently, "No, I haven't been to one since I was five." She answered in a nonchalant tone. She stepped onto the sidewalk, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail to look nicer than she actually was. She put her hands in the long pocket of her dirty, dark grey sweatshirt, her black ankle high, lace-up boots made a dull noise as she walked behind Dean.
Dean opened the door and swung it open far enough for him to walk through and for Scarlett to catch it in time. She scoffed at him as she did the same to Sam, she continued to follow Dean to a booth. She climbed in with Sam climbing in next to her to make sure she doesn't try anything. Dean sat down across from the two, a waitress walked by placing down a few menus for them. He grabbed one, opening it with his eyes scanning the page for the biggest burger he could possibly find. Scarlett looked at him confused at how laid back he was. Sam cleared his throat before picking up the last two menus and handing one to her.
"What's my limit?" She asked glancing through the presentations of food on the plastic protected paper.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked looking up from his menu curiously. His eyebrows moved a bit closer together.
"How much are you willing to spend on me?"
"How much?"
"Like, I can only get something up to five dollars."
"Uh. Find whatever, looks good to you."
Scarlett looked at Sam a bit shocked, her eyes returned to the menu. She looked at the grilled salmon that was advertised for a good price. She closed the menu as the waitress returned to take drink orders. She placed it on the edge of the table, she leaned on her arms as she looked up at the waitress.
"Hello, boys, and lady. What can I get you to drink?"
"Three glasses of water and we're ready to order. I'll have the Billy Bobby Bega Burger."
"I'll have the Sloser salad."
"And what about you sweetheart?"
"Me? Oh, I'll have the Seafloor Salmon."
"Alright, I have three glasses of water, Bega burger, Sloser salad, and Seafloor Salmon. I'll get it right out." The waitress said smiling, she twirled around and walked away behind the bar to the kitchen.
Dean watched the waitress walk away, he leaned forwards checking out her body. Scarlett smirked before kicking his leg playfully, she laid back in her seat and giggled softly. Dean turned his head quickly to her with a bemused expression and gave her glare. Scarlett winked at him with a mischievous smile. Sam's eyes shifted between the two before he cleared his throat. "About the three men that were murdered. Did you know any of them?" Sam asked quickly. He was trying to change the subject before a fight brewed between the two. He pulled out the three pictures of the men and turned to face Scarlett. She took the photos as she stared at the three men, then back up at the three others. She put two of the photos and only held the photo of a man who had red under his eyes, a black bread with curly hair. His face was dirty, cut up and clearly homeless like her.
"Joseph, he was a drug dealer and known to try to seduce girls to work for him. He never succeeded in the end, but I saw him running into the forest alone. A girl was chasing behind him and boy was she fast."
"A girl?"
"Yea, she had blonde hair, fair skin, she was pretty petite for a girl her age, inhumanly fast for how skinny she was."
"Great," Dean said giving Sam a confirming look. "Did you see anything else? Was she holding anything sharp?" Sam continued to ask trying to confirm what she saw. He was getting suspicious of the girl that she mentioned to him. "What are you? Ghostbusters or something?" Scarlett answered with a mocking tone. She shifted her eyes between the to men, noticing that weren't amused over her comments. She rolled her eyes, looking out the window quietly before she looked back at them. "I guess the laugh track broke." She commented before growing quiet again. Sam turned his head towards Dean who was giving a slightly amused look. His attention turned to the waitress that walked towards the table placing down the plates in front of the trio. She walked away after fixing her dress, Dean continued to watch the waitress as she walked away.
"Hey, playboy if you aren't going to eat your burger, I'm happy to take it." Scarlett chimed to get his attention. Dean turned with a glare. "What did I say?" He asked with an adult tone. She rolled her eyes which landed on the salmon in front of her and started eating it. She smiled at the food, her eyes lighting up since she's only survived off of half eaten, garbage juice covered food. She shoved the food into her mouth enjoying every bite which intrigued the brothers. "Do you have any idea of who the woman that attacked them?" Sam asked clearing his throat. Scarlett smirked at him, "No, but I can take you to the people who hate him the most." She wiped her mouth with a napkin, letting out burp before she straightened herself in the booth. She looked at the two smiling at the fact she could manipulate them into giving her a temporary place to stay while they were in town.
Sam looked at her surprised, stuttering Dean started to speak. "What do you want in return to taking us to these people?" He asked with a serious, business-like tone. "How about a hotel room for an entire night?" Scarlett answered smiling, shifting her eyes between the two. Dean looked at Sam with an impatient expression on his face. "Fine," Dean grumbled and picked up his burger, taking a huge bite out of it. He was annoyed but intrigued by Scarlett's swindling tactics. Scarlett gave Dean an innocent smile as she finished the rest of her food.
Once, everyone finished eating, the trio returned to Baby. "Alright, kid. Tell us about these people." Dean demanded, clearing his throat giving a hint of 'back to business'. "Right, there is this woman named Julia Jefferson. She lives up the road across the bar on Duluth Avenue, she is known for working at the casino down the street." Scarlett chimed pridefully at her knowledge. Sam gave a surprised expression at how suddenly cooperative Scarlett was, then turned his attention to Dean. "Let's check it out," Sam noted, opening the door of Baby and climbing. "Alright, climb in." Dean fretted turning to the driver door and opened it climbing in. Scarlett smiled as she did so and sat in the middle of the backseat. "Hey, since I'm being very helpful. You might need an extra pair of hands to help out with your 'investigation'," Scarlett hinted. "Oh? We aren't babysitters," Dean barked. "That's right! Your fake FBI agents, trying to be Ghostbusters. Thank you for reminding me!" Scarlett answered, as she gestured her fingered her head and quickly moved it away.
Dean looked over at Sam, quietly putting his hand on his gun that was hidden in his waistband. "How did you know?" Dean asked cautiously. "Dude, it's called the black market. I've seen plenty of fake badges, now you can take me with you or I start singing like a canary." She smiled mischievously. Sam sat there and looked over at Dean, "Alright, but you do as we say," Sam answered. "Cross my heart," Scarlett smirked in victory at Dean. Dean had a scowl on his face as he turned over Baby's engine and backed out of the parking space.