Chapter Ten: When Two Worlds Collide
As soon as Sam stepped out of the bathroom, Dean intercepted him.
"I'm going to go and get us some oak to make stakes," he said before Sam could protest, "I shouldn't be long."
The younger man turned his 'puppy eyes' on but Dean ignored them.
"Try and get some rest while I'm out, Sammy," Dean instructed his brother, "Agent Hotchner has his Technical Analyst looking for abandoned buildings this hag might be hiding in and we could get the call anytime."
Dean hated telling his brother what to do: go to sleep, get some rest, eat more, eat anything, etc.
But Sam needed it; Dean wouldn't be on his brother's case if it were otherwise.
"O-Okay," Sam relented without putting up a fight.
"Take a couple of those sleeping pills if that'll help," Dean suggested, his tone now less authoritative.
Sam nodded and set his folded FBI suit on his duffel bag. He brushed his still-damp bangs away from his face and Dean felt his brother's eyes on him.
Dean knew Sam felt useless. He didn't blame him, he would feel the same way if their positions were reversed but he needed Sam as sharp as possible when they went to go kill Black Annis, despite the FBI backup.
Dean wasn't stupid. He knew Aaron Hotchner, if not the other agents, would demand to help them kill the hag. And Dean would let them. They knew their way around human monsters so the real thing shouldn't be too different.
The older brother closed the door to the motel and sighed, wishing he could do something more to help his sibling than be breathing down his neck all the time.
Deciding it was no use worrying about at the moment, Dean took the car keys from his pocket and unlocked the door of the Ford.
SPN
Sam sat down on his bed and picked up the bottle of sleeping pills that was sitting on the nightstand between the beds. The young man's shoulders hunched protectively and rubbed a hand over his face. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and looked forward to the dreamless sleep the pills would provide.
Looking up, Sam was not surprised to see Lucifer sitting across from him on Dean's bed.
Defiantly, the young man opened the bottle of sleeping pills, shook two out onto his palm and swallowed them without bothering to wash them down with water.
SPN
The team returned to the police station to await word from Garcia.
"How are we going to explain this when we get back to Quantico?" JJ asked quietly after the door to the glass-walled conference room was closed tightly.
"We'll think of something," Hotchner to the team, sounding more confident than he looked.
The agents looked up when the door opened and Chief Gabraldo poked his head into the room.
"I was just wondering…" the police chief began but paused, "Where are Agents Rhoads and Reznor?"
"Still at the crime scene," Rossi lied.
"Oh," Chief Gabraldo replied, "Will they be returning soon?"
"If they find anything useful," Hotchner spoke up, "Is there anything you wanted?"
"I was just wondering if you were any closer to killing this bastard," Gabraldo said, "I mean, you've got another two agents on the case and this psycho's still out there."
"Agents Rhoads and Reznor only just arrived today," Hotchner explained, "But I assure you we are doing everything we can to find the unsub."
The Chief nodded, "My men are always at your disposal Agent Hotchner, they know this city best."
Aaron told the police officer that they would let them assist when they found the murderer but until then they would have to wait, just as the agents themselves were doing.
Turning back to his team members, the Unit Chief grabbed his phone from his pocket when it began ringing. Putting the device on Speaker when he saw that it was Penelope calling, Aaron greeted the Technical Analyst.
"Please tell us you've found something, Garcia."
"Oh yes, my lovelies, Miller's Falls is full of abandoned warehouses," the woman chirped, sounding proud of herself.
"Reid," Hotch called, "Can you mark them buildings on the map?"
The young agent obediently went to the map taped to one of the conference room's glass walls and picked up a yellow highlighter.
"There's quite a few," Garcia told them, "the town seems to be suffering from the recession just as much as any other-"
"List off the addresses for us, Baby Girl," Morgan spoke up and Garcia began going down the list she had compiled.
JJ moved over towards Reid and watched as the other agent quickly circled the addresses on the map that housed abandoned buildings from factories and warehouses to residences.
"Guys," JJ abruptly noticed something particular about the crime scenes and one address specifically, "I think we need to go to Bower Street."
The team turned and stared at the map. Bower Street was in the center of all the scenes where the victims' bodies had been discovered.
"What is it? Is it something good?" Garcia's voice asked curiously from the phone's speaker.
"You're a genius," Morgan told her, "We might have found where this thing is hiding."
"Oh… that's good," the Technical Analyst answered, sounding less confident.
"Don't worry," Morgan assured her, "We're working with the best when it comes to monsters."
"I just wish I felt as confident about this as you," Garcia answered, "I mean you don't even really know them, do-"
"Don't start again," Morgan replied, "It'll be okay. I promise."
The dark-skinned agent looked up, startled when Garcia ended the call and the phone went dead.
"Derek, can you call the Winchesters? We should get this finished as soon as possible," Hotch instructed.
The rest of the team all looked to him, their faces now showing nerves.
"Think of this as any other case," the Unit Chief told his friends.
"Any other case and we'd be head to head with a human with a gun or a knife," Prentiss commented sarcastically, "Not some monster who skins people and eats their organs."
SPN
Dean was just dumping an armload of oak branches into the trunk of his rental vehicle when his phone began trilling out the chords to 'Smoke on the Water' in his pocket.
Closing the Ford's trunk, with one hand, Dean fished his cell out with the other and answered it.
"Yes?" He answered, without checking the caller ID.
"Dean, we think we've found where your monster is hiding," Derek Morgan's voice said, "Can you and Sam meet us at the Police Station."
Dean sighed and raised his eyes skyward, "We can but the weapons are not exactly ready-"
"What weapons?" the agent asked, sounding slightly suspicious.
"Guns aren't going to stop this thing," Dean told the man, "The only way to kill Black Annis is to stab her with oak stakes."
"Any other day that would be weird," Morgan commented, "Can we help at all? What do we need to do?"
"I have the branches," Dean told him, "They need to be sharpened into stakes."
"Okay, well, we'll help," the agent said, "The more the merrier."
Dean smirked.
"Is there someplace we can meet you?" Morgan asked, "I'd look pretty odd having a team of FBI agents piles of cordwood into the station."
"Yeah," Dean answered, "Sure, why don't you come to the motel?"
The hunter told the agent the name of the motel he and his brother were staying at and ended the call. He climbed into the car and headed towards the motel.
SPN
Sam was asleep when Dean opened the front door and although he was loath to wake his sibling, Dean needed his help with the stakes.
Crossing the room, Dean reached out and touched his brother's shoulder.
"Hey," he said quietly, "Wake up, buddy."
Sam's eyes opened slowly, groggily, and looked up. Dean's heart clenched when he saw trepidation bloom on Sam face.
"It's just me, Sammy," Dean assured his brother, "The real me."
Sam sat up and brushed his bangs away from his forehead, "Did you get the wood we need?"
"Yeah," Dean told him, "And the Feds found a building that looks promising."
Sam looked up, "That's good, isn't it?"
Dean nodded, "Yeah, yeah it is. But we're not ready to take this bitch down yet. The team is coming here to help us prepare… and we'll prepare them."
SPN
Morgan wrinkled his nose as he pulled the black SUV into the motel parking lot. The place was somewhat dilapidated- old- and in dire need of a renovation.
"And I thought the Bureau had us staying at the cheapest places in town," Rossi commented from beside him.
Cutting the engine, Morgan stepped from the vehicle, followed by Dave, Emily, and Reid who had squished into the backseat. Aaron and JJ were still at the Police Station, placating Chief Gabraldo for the time being until the rest of the team- and the Winchesters- were ready to take down the monster.
The four agents crossed the cracked parking lot and Morgan knocked on the door of Dean and Sam's motel room. A moment passed before the door opened and they were admitted. Dean greeted the agents self-consciously- which surprised Morgan- and the Feds stepped into the small room. Derek saw Sam was sitting at the table, using a rather large knife to sharpen a long stake of wood.
"Come on in," Dean said and closed the door behind the agents, "Grab a knife and let's get this party started."
Morgan stepped forward and picked a blade from one of the open duffel bags.
"Are you sure these will kill the monster?" Emily asked, pulling her long black hair into a knot at the back of her head.
Dean looked to his brother and Sam nodded grimly.
Morgan grabbed one of the branches and sat down on the edge of one of the beds.
Soon all four agents and the two hunters were working silently and steadily, focusing only on readying themselves for the coming battle.
Author's Note:
Chapter title comes from an Iron Maiden song of the same name.
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