I am so sorry this took so long. I didn't even realize how many fav's and follows this got because my email messed up. Totally thought no one cared. Imagine my surprise! You guys are awesome! So here you go with a shiny new chapter. Some suspension of belief might be necessary. I am not a psychologist or forensic expert of any kind. I just watch way too much criminal minds, supernatural, and CSI than is probably healthy for one person. If anyone notices any mistakes in the team's observations or anything else just let me know so I can fix them! As always, remember to READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, despite my best attempts to get a crossroads deal. Crowley keeps shooting me down since I don't have a soul to bargain with. Jerk.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. -William Shakespeare
After her disturbing realization, subsequent and non optional freakout, and call to the Winchesters, it didn't take long for Penelope to finish making the presentation for her team. After all she was used to working under pressure. The fact that her team was about to go after a group of supernatural creatures certainly counted as pressure. However she was feeling much better since the two brothers had promised to drive like bats outta hell and would arrive at San Francisco not long after she and her team.
So Garcia pushed up her sleeves and got to work. She considered, momentarily, glossing over some of the supernatural details of each case but ultimately decided against it. Her team would eventually find out from coroner reports and the cops on scene, and everything would just fall downhill from there. Not to mention that Penelope was a poor liar in the face of direct questions, but evasion and mild deception she could do. Within a few minutes of her team arriving the blonde tech analyst was prepped and about as ready as she would ever be. Walking down the hall to the briefing room she could see Rossi and Hotch muttering to each other in the doorway of the presentation room, as they were apt to do when they were wary of a really bad case.
"Alright my very super special agents, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times because this one is going to be a doozy." Penelope said as she entered the room and grabbed the remote for the projector, armed with a tablet in her other hand.
"I would like to direct your attention to your tablets, or in Reid's case your paper, the squeamish should avert their eyes. Early this morning in the golden city of San Francisco three bodies were found around the same time in three entirely different sections of the city." Garcia said in mostly one breath, already wishing this case was over.
"What connects them?" JJ asked in a puzzled voice.
"All three victims have the same symbol carved into their foreheads. Which is how local police connected them so quickly," Hotch informed. Garcia mentally fretted, debating if she should tell them the meaning of the symbol but was spared deciding by Reid's interruption of her thoughts.
"This symbol is interesting, especially its placement on the forehead," Reid said thoughtfully as he flipped through several of his provided photos. "It's possible that the unsubs are using it as a 'badge of shame'. Badges of shame are shown throughout history and literature, most notably in the book 'The Scarlet Letter', where an adulterer is forced to wear a red 'A' made of cloth. Back in the mid-fifteenth century criminals were commonly branded on their face to show all who met them of their offence. This practice continued through the american civil war until it was finally abolished. By carving whatever this symbol means into the forehead of the victims, means that this perceived offence is personal in nature to the unsubs."
"Please continue Garcia." Hotch said in his usual stoic tone, though the lines around his eyes seemed more serious than normal. Penelope nodded and clicked her button, bringing the first of many terrible images up onto the screen.
"First victim is 24 year old Anna Jones, a diner girl who fell on hard times and turned prostitute from Oklahoma. She had been living as such for four years and was found by her next client of the night who called the cops. Her death seems to look like a suicide and only her prints were found on the knife used to slit her wrists. However she had no other scars from previous attempts or even a history of suicidal thoughts."
Prentis narrowed her eyes in thought, "What is this black substance coming from her ears?"
"Unclear. The coroner should have more information by the time we land," Hotch assured.
"Despite all that if not for the mark on her forehead her case would likely have gone cold and been completely written off and closed," Rossi observed with a frown. "No sign of sexual assault or struggle, and the victim hardly has a hair out of place. Are we even sure there's an unsub in this one? There's no overkill, no obvious signature of any kind. If there is an unsub he's so controlled and organised it's hard to tell he's there at all."
"Considering the nature of the crime and how it's connected to the others by the symbol let's assume there is an unsub until we can prove otherwise." Hotch said firmly, everyone nodding before turning their attention back to Garcia.
Penelope took a deep breath, pushing down the unease in her stomach, that had little to do with the photos she put on screen. "Second to bite the dust, pardon the pun, was 47 year old traveling business man Ben Stiller. He has no fixed address but has made a living for the past two decades selling bibles all over the US. His remains were found by a homeless man in an isolated part of a local park. Where it seems Ben had been beaten, bitten and ripped apart by some kind of massive dog. This is one of many reasons why I prefer cats."
"Coroner's initial reports show both dog and human bites on the body, along with a missing heart." Derrick said with revulsion which Garcia could relate to. Werewolves were nasty pieces of work.
JJ shook her head in astonishment, "How big would this dog have to be to do this much damage?"
Penelope had to bite her tongue to keep from replying, 'Oh, about man-sized would be able to do it.'
"The better question to ask would be how does the unsub control the dog and how does it fit into his MO. Based on the jaw strength that it would take to break through the sternum and the size and depth of the bite wounds, this dog would need to be massive, extremely violent and next to impossible to control. It's likely to be a large mixed breed, perhaps even be half wolf," Reid muttered distractedly.
Garcia could swear her heart stopped when Reid said the W word, her mouth going dry as she barely barely managed to keep from flinching.
"All of which will make it harder to hide without a remote location to keep it contained," Rossi said thoughtfully. "There's a lot of rage here. This unsub certainly seems disorganised to the point of recklessness. Which begs the question did the unsub know Ben or was he merely a victim of opportunity. The level of overkill involved would suggest this is personal."
Prentice shook her head, "And then there's always the question of what happened to the heart."
Quickly, as a poor means of distraction, Penelope pulled herself together and cleared her throat to speak. "And thirdly but certainly not the most horrifyingly, is 32 year old Janet Wilson. She was a happily married San Francisco native with two twin little boys. According to reports she was having a date night with her husband, left to go to the washroom and didn't return. She was found just a few blocks away by a junkie in an alley, her throat torn out and almost completely exsanguinated."
"Another biter I see," Prentis said sardonically with a slightly curled lip at the provided pictures. "Just minus the canine this time."
"The bite wound was also slashed several times with a knife postmortem, could that have been a counter measure to keep us from ID'ing him through dental records?" Morgan asked with a frown.
"Maybe, but perhaps it was overkill. Janet was a low risk victim in a setting with high risk of being caught for the unsub. The fact that he was able to get Janet out of the restaurant without raising alarm from the staff or her husband means he blends in, is charismatic and experienced. He's done this before had plenty of time to practice and refine his technique. Taking Janet from a public place with no one the wiser could be part of the unsubs thrill." JJ said seriously, her eyes lingering on the once happy family photo.
"Considering the trouble the unsub went through then it's likely Janet was targeted by the unsub but not necessarily stalked. There are better places than a crowded restaurant to take her from. If he had stalked her he'd know these times and places. That suggests he's either impulsive or rushed for time." Morgan added, his specialty in fixations and obsessive behaviors shining through.
Hotch nods in agreement. "It's something to consider. Having a certain timeframe to kill in would explain why all three unsubs killed so close together. We might even need to consider a shared delusion that prompts them to kill in these manners."
"There's something odd about the wound," Reid mused. "It's difficult to tell with the knife wounds overtop. At first glance it looks like her throat was ripped out with human teeth, but the teeth marks are too ragged. Normally I'd say that insects could have widened the appearance of the wound but the body was found too soon after death for insects to have set in. It's possible a toothed tool was used to kill her and drain the body."
"What we do know is that with the brutal nature of all these murders, each one of these unsubs is a psychopath. With no remorse or attempt to dispose the bodies away from their murder sites, they're confident that they won't be caught. They are calculating, practiced, and there is little doubt that they have each killed before though perhaps not in a group."
"Which is why I want everyone to exercise extreme caution this case. If this story gets leaked to the press in anyway this pack could turn its attention to us. They would see us as a rival pack that needs eliminating before we threaten their security. Wheels up in ten."
Recognising Hotch's signature dismissal everyone quickly stood and grabbed their bags. Penelope worried her lip between her teeth as she gathered both her go-bag and her larger bag of technological goodies. Heck, she had always known that her team were expert profilers but watching them analyse the supernatural was both strange and impressive. Some of their deductions were so close Garcia was worried they were going to figure it out. Much to her worry. The blonde had never been more grateful for the blindness that the normal world had for the weird. Rationalizing everything into something perfectly explainable to the point where people wouldn't recognise something supernatural if it bit them on the nose. Garcia was suddenly shaken from her thoughts by her larger bag being smoothly taken from her hands.
The blonde turned to see Derek slinging her bag over his shoulder and quirking an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "You're awfully quiet today baby girl. Something on that beautiful mind of yours?"
Penelope could alway count on Derek to recognise when she was worried, which at the moment was both a good and a bad thing.
Garcia put a smile on her painted lips, "Just a bit sleep deprived my darling. I'm sure a five minute cat nap on the plane will help this kitten to be bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready to go on the prowl."
Derek gave her the little smile that she has come to associate with the 'you're adorable but crazy' look he often gives her. Yes Garcia had it trademarked, what of it.
"Well it's a bit of a plane ride to San Francisco, I'm sure Hotch won't hold a grudge if you nod off. I get the feeling we're all going to need to be in top condition for this case," Derek said casually as they walked after the rest of the team toward the elevators.
'That's what I'm worried about,' Penelope thought to herself anxiously.
The drive to the airport and the ride on the jet was altogether uneventful. Garcia was unable to sleep through her simmering worry, but being able to close her eyes for a few minutes trying to catch a few z's helped a little. The rest of the flight was spent listening to her team bounce a few theories off each other and begin digging into the families of the deceased victims. They landed in San Francisco with little fanfare other than a pair of vehicles to take them to the local precinct. The precinct itself was busy, as most of the large city police stations are. An older man with a distinct 'in charge here' walk came ambling up.
"I'm assumin' ya'll are the agents I was told would be arrivin'. I'm the man in charge here, name's Andrew Grant." The man drawled with a thick southern accent, he didn't offer anyone his hand to shake.
Hotch nodded, his diplomatic face firmly in place while he assessed exactly how welcome their presence was. "We are. I'm the unit chief Hotchner, these are SSA agents Rossi, Morgan, Jareau, Prentiss, and Doctor Reid. We also brought our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."
Everyone gave Grant a small nod in greeting, which he returned. Garcia gave a little wave and got a second glance and a raised brow but she was used to that reaction. Kept life interesting.
Hotch cleared his throat, "Do you have a space in which we can work?"
Grant nodded and gestured to an out of the way back room. "Used ta be a break room. It's small but it has everythin' ya should need. If there's anythin' else I can provide just let me or my crew know an' we'll do what we can to get it for ya."
"It's much appreciated," Hotch said with a nod. "We'd like to set up and then go over what you have so far on each case."
"Will do, just come an' find me when ya'll are done then." Grant nodded one more time before he walked away getting dragged back into the supervised chaos of the precinct.
"He's co-operative but not exactly volunteering information." JJ stated what they were all thinking.
"He's a busy man with more enough on his plate to be dealing with this case." Hotch demurred with a furrowed brow. "It simply means we need to make sure to ask the right questions and follow their rules. JJ, I'd like you to speak with the families. Make sure to look for similarities and any connections the victims might have. Prentiss and Reid, you get to the morgue and look over the bodies. Get the autopsies and find out everything that wasn't included in the initial reports. Morgan and Rossi, you two go visit the crime scenes and analyse any physical evidence. We'll all meet back here and compare notes once you're done."
The team nodded and dispersed, moving into the room they were given to either drop things off or gather what they needed before they moved out. Garcia entered the vaguely musty room and claimed the tiny desk off to the side by ceremoniously dropping her bag upon it.
Hotch approached, "Garcia, I don't want to rush you but we need to begin looking into the victim's backgrounds, including. How soon can you be set up and running?"
Penelope gave him a little salute, and clicked her ruby red heels together for emphasis. Though she was fairly sure she used the wrong hand for the salute. "Fear not my captain. Once I consult with the local techies and hook up to the network they got here I shall be ready to set sail with the tide. Just give me an hour."
He nodded, the tiniest easing in his forehead wrinkles making Garcia feel accomplished. "I'll let you get on it then. I'm going to speak with some of the other officers and people that discovered the bodies. Keep me updated."
"Yes sir," Garcia answered, taking a moment to watch her boss leave the room before beginning to set up her computers.
The blonde tech had to take several deep breaths to keep her hands steady. The last thing she wanted was to alert her team to her distress any more than they already were. They needed to focus on the case, and Penelope needed to avoid attracting their attention and questions that she couldn't answer. It wasn't even noon and Penelope felt like she needed a vacation. Garcia supposed she would just have to make due with grabbing a cup of coffee on her way to speak to the precinct technicians. So once her equipment was hooked up and settled Penelope left the room to stalk the scent of the nearest coffee pot.
The public coffee at any precinct generally left a lot to be desired, and this precinct was no different. However Garcia was in no position to be picky. She was tired enough at this point she was fairly sure she'd be willing to drink vitriol so long as it was caffeinated. So she quickly acquired herself a steaming paper cup, full to the brim with sweet ambrosia. Penelope took a moment to take a deep sniff and cradle the warm styrofoam in her hands, savoring the moment before facing the chaos. With fresh determination and a cup of coffee she turned on her heel and marched from the break room. Intent on getting to work and doing what she did best.
However she didn't get very far. Garcia found herself rather frozen in her tracks when she spotted a pair of familiar faces. Faces that shouldn't be here, in the precinct, dressed up as cops and certainly not talking to officer Grant. The shorter of the two spotted her first and waved with a grin before elbowing his brother. The fair haired technician could feel a muscle twitching in her cheek as she stared at the two men in mildly growing panic.
Penelope was going to kill Sam and Dean.
Woohoo! The Winchesters have appeared! Our favorite Moose and Squirrel will be in the next chapter, so long as Garcia doesn't murder them that is. Too many witnesses and cops around so they should be safe. Though the wisdom of walking into a precinct of cops and FBI agents is pretty questionable. I feel a bit bad for Penelope, those boys are going to be the death of her. Let me know what you think below! I live for reviews! They feed my soul!
