Disclaimer: Supernatural does. Not. Belong. To. Me. Ba Humbug :(
CHAPTER 6
It starts with reviewing the notes. Learn the basics; get an idea of what they're like. Learn their habits, their likes, their dislikes. You set your mind to it, your whole life becomes this, you see everything in shades of gore and Winchester.
Then, you gather the evidence. You look at clues and recent deaths and make the connection between legally dead serial killers and current murders. You reference SucroCorp videos and sightings of the brothers and explain the similarity in crimes they have been linked to and crimes you suspect they committed.
Backed with research and proof, you make a plan and involve the people you work for. The FBI, your captain, the District Attorney office. You request more resources and BOLOs and canine tracking units and a manhunt.
Then you wait.
It all happens in a matter of hours and a day. A lifetime of crime and mystery jammed down your throat and directed into action. 27 hours you've worked this case. 27 hours you haven't slept. And Agent Dentrel is working right beside you. He digs through papers and baggies of evidence and pushes for action alongside you.
You're lawful partners fighting against criminal partners.
Finally, you start seeing results. Yes, you will get more resources. Yes, a BOLO will be released. No, there will be no canine unit sent out- they're a hazard to the city, especially when there is no finite proof that the Winchesters are here, blah, blah, blah. No, a manhunt is not permissible.
The results are mixed and you have to work harder.
"Det. Laney, will you come here for a second? This young man has some very interesting information to share." Agent Dentrel motions for the detective and he looks triumphant.
Laney rushes over, papers gripped tight in anticipation. "Well? What's so interesting?"
The boy turns to her. He is an adult, but he looks young and unsettled. He clears his throat, swallowing a few times, and Laney catalogues the behaviors as signs of nervousness. Then, gathering himself enough to speak, he tells the detective what he told the agent.
"Miss, uh, miss detective? I think, I think I might have seen one of the Winchesters last night?" It comes out as a question, but Laney gets the feeling that the boy is not mistaken. It's not often that a person like him, inexperienced and intimidated by authority, will share what he witnessed if he has a good chance of being wrong.
She nods, trying to not to smile like a shark on the trail of blood, and tells him she and Agent Dentrel would be like to question him further, to hear more details. He nods, lost but willing, and she leads him to an empty room down a hall filled with rooms.
"So, you only saw one of the Winchesters?" Agent Dentrel asks the question, maintaining a level of professionalism and neutral inflection. He doesn't want to lead the witness.
The boy has become more at ease and is not at all hesitant to clarify. "Yes! I remember their faces turning up on the news lots of times over the last few years. The killing spree they went on last year? Oh, that made my skin crawl. I still don't much like going to banks. But, as I was saying! I saw the younger one. Sam? The one with the long, shaggy mop head? Right, him. It was definitely Sam. He looked kind of off kilter. Boy I almost-"
The boy is eager to chat, filling the air with civilian feelings in the face of true monsters, and Det. Laney wants to change his focus.
"'Off kilter'? What do you mean by that James?"
James, the boy, startles, as if he's just realized the significance of his observation. "Oh, right! Yeah, that Sam guy was not looking too good. Really, that's probably the only reason he didn't kill me! Anyways, he was just stumbling around, leaning against the buildings as he walked. Yeah, he walked right by me and I got a real hard elbow jab to my side. Yeouch! It's why I noticed him."
Laney licks her lip, trying to contain her eagerness. This is huge. They have a witness and now she's sure the boys are still in town. Probably not for long, but for long enough. All they have to do is see if James can identify a picture of Sam as the man he saw.
"Yes sir. That is exactly what I'm saying. Sir, the Winchesters are definitely in town. We have a witness who can corroborate for the whereabouts of Sam Winchester around one o'clock at night."
Agent Dentrel stands tall as he reveals the news. Det. Laney stands right beside him, equally sure and intent.
"If that's the case Agent Dentrel, report to the captain. I will arrange for the manhunt, and you will help the captain strategize our search." The man looks impenetrable, but his response is positive and Det. Laney finds herself filled with relief.
Squad cars are setting a perimeter around the city, setting base around the major roads, highways. The cars move in controlled pattern, up and down designated routes and circling the city. It is not impenetrable, but it's overpowering, enduring. The brothers with be found. Give it time.
