Chapter 2
After a hearty meal of a high-cholesterol cheese burger with fries for Dean and a simple diet of a Cesar Salad for Sam, coupling with a couple of beers for both of them, the time for breaking and entering a crime scene couldn't have been better.
The storm that had been threatening to break all day looked like it won't until tomorrow, which just adds a small favor to the Winchesters considering their luck.
"Do you think I should make one more round around the block for that damn Hummer?" Dean asked, clearly agitated and bothered, as much as Sam is by the owner, eyes ceaselessly darting everywhere for anything that might resemble the vehicle.
"Sure Dean, but you've already made two rounds so far and came up with nothing. And now all we have to do is wait until that patrol car to make its round and leave." Sam said referring to the cop car driving slowly around the neighborhood, hoping to be the one to catch the killer and be given a promotion.
The Impala was parked two blocks away from the scene of the crime, but their position gives them not only a perfect hiding spot, thanks to the raven darkness night brings, but also a clear view of the three-story house itself located in one of Portland's upper echelon.
Once the patrol car left, Sam stepped out of Impala and met his brother at the back of the car, patiently waiting for his brother to open the trunk to reveal the various weapons that littered the trunk, innocently waiting to be used.
Even though they were going investigating, Dean and Sam were always prepared for anything, checking their trusty .45s to make sure it was loaded, and also making sure to bring extra cartridges while taking flashlights.
Upon approaching the backdoor to the supposedly uninhabited house, Sam just couldn't ignore his instincts screaming at him to be on high alert any longer as he looked behind him every few minutes expecting something to jump him. Dean on the other hand, looked completely at ease even though Sam could tell by the muscle twitching in his brother's cheek as well as the iron grip he had on the flashlight that he too was on high alert.
Both brothers grew more worrisome and alerted when they found the backdoor completely unlocked, or as Sam had pointed out, the door looked like it had been lock-picked. They had no doubt that it was the owner of the Hummer; it was too much of a coincidence not to think it is, and of course, the Winchesters never believed in coincidences.
They moved stealthily through room after room, using their flashlights only when necessary so as not to alert anybody to their presence, when they heard a sudden noise, which
sounded like a cell phone vibrating, coming from the kitchen that was located on the far east of the place.
Using the marine hand signals that his father taught him, Dean signaled Sam to cover him as they both pulled out their Glocks with one hand while holding their flashlights in the other, making sure it's turned off so as not to alert their position. As they used the moon as the only source of light, they quickly and silently approached the kitchen.
Sam barely held back an audible grunt as he stubbed his toe on an overstuffed sofa, hoping that whoever is in the house with them didn't hear it. But as Winchester luck would have it, the vibration sound of the cell phone suddenly stopped as if the owner somehow realized that someone else was in the house, throwing the brothers into an eerie absence of sound.
By the time the sound stopped, Dean and Sam was flanking the entrance to the kitchen, waiting for some other sound that would give away the owner's position before going in blindly.
After a few minutes in which no other sound came from the kitchen, Dean signaled Sam to once again cover him as he forced entryway, clicking on his flashlight in the last minute hoping to surprise the owner, Sam right behind him doing the same.
It took Sam less than a second to realize that the cold steel pressed against his back was actually a gun. It took Sam more than a second to realize the lonely cell phone sitting next to the sink was nothing but bait. They were led into a trap.
"Drop your weapons," said a voice authoritatively, one gun aiming at Sam's back, and raising another, aiming it at Dean threateningly when he hesitated, "now, or you'll regret it."
Sam, not looking to piss off his captor, dropped his weapon and his flashlight, putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender, eyes drilling holes at the back of his brother's head, silently warning him not to do anything stupid.
In the meantime, Dean made a quick calculation to see if he could disarm the person holding his baby brother at gun point and ensure his safety, but decided not to risk it since he wasn't close enough and would only give the person reason enough to start shooting. He could actually feel his brother drilling holes at the back of his head, warning him not to try anything reckless, but judging the fact that the person holding all the cards actually sounds like a woman, he thought he could charm her into letting his baby brother go and that they could all leave in peace. That was not the case when he dropped his weapon and the flashlight as he turned around to face her, hands put up like his brother.
She did not at all look like she was in the mood to be charmed, dissuaded, compromised, or anything up the Dean Winchester rule-book on how to handle women. She looked like she wanted to be given a reason or an excuse to start shooting.
Once both brothers were disarmed, she demanded, "Who are you?"
Dean looked at her indigently, lowering his hands and asked, "Who are you?"
When Sam glanced behind him to look at the woman and sensing that she is not taking a liking to his brother and just might shoot him, he quickly said, "I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean," warning his brother with his eyes to keep his mouth shut.
"Winchester?" the woman asked uncertainly, eyes darting between both brothers, not ready to put away her weapons yet.
Both brothers looked at each other, unsure of who she is or how she knew their surname, but replied "Yeah," followed by "How'd you know?" from Dean.
The woman slowly lowered her weapons, keeping a wary eye on both of them, uncertain if they could be trusted.
"Met your father once. He was a great man," she said, still wary of them, "and I'm sorry to hear he had passed away." She added as an afterthought.
As the brothers nodded in acceptance of her condolences, Sam finally took a good look at her. As petite as she is, it was no wonder why the gun reached to the middle of his back and not at his head. Shaking his head at the irony of having someone that appeared to be no taller than 5'3, holding a gun at him and making him feel vulnerable enough that he saw his life flashed before his eyes, was truly unbelievable even for Winchester standards.
"And who are you?" voiced Sam, curiously as he suddenly realized that they still don't know who this mystery woman is.
She looked up at him like she wasn't at all intimidated by his 6'4 frame, and said, "I do apologize for my rudeness. My name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Montgomery. And if you two don't mind, we don't need your help, but there are others that do. If y'all are interested, there's a wendigo that's needed taken cared of up north as well as a poltergeist that's just asking to be put out of its misery two states south. That being said, I'm sure you two can show yourselves out the door." She smiled sweetly.
Both brothers stared at her and at each other while she was making her speech, unsure of what to say, and continued staring at her long after she picked up her phone, left the kitchen and started climbing the stairs, no doubt heading for the master bedroom.
"What the hell just happened?" Dean asked after a few minutes, still baffled and a little irritated at the idea that a simple woman almost got the better of him as he jammed a thumb back towards the entrance indicating the woman.
"I think she wanted us to leave," Sam said, a little amazed at the audacity and fearlessness she possessed when confronting them as he picked up his weapon and flashlight.
"No shit, Captain Obvious," Dean said as he mulled over the next course of action, picking up his own weapon and flashlight and deciding that no matter what, they were not leaving until this case was solved. Just the thought of trying to convince this Elizabeth that she and whoever is with her might need their help is looking like it might be a tough job even for the great Dean Winchester himself.
"You think we should follow her?" Sam said, ignoring him and practically voicing what he was just thinking.
"Sure. I don't see why not. I mean how bad could this night get?"
"Considering our luck Dean, bad. But if there are more females like her roaming around here, then I'll leave you to handle them alone."
"Ha, thanks. More for me then."
"But that's only if you can handle them," Sam continued ribbing him. "And if you can't, well, then you might disgrace our gender on letting a petite woman kick your ass."
"Don't worry about that, I'll just tag in my freakishly tall little brother to come and save the day. And if you can't, well Sammy, it's nice knowing ya." Dean patted him on the back as if already saying farewell.
"Whatever dude. So I guess it's time to meet our maker." Sam said in such a mockingly heartfelt sigh of resignation.
Once Sam saw his brother nodding in agreement, they both clicked on their flashlights, acting a little bit more confident than they were a moment ago when they entered the house, and followed Elizabeth up the stairs.
It wasn't hard to find where the master bedroom was located since they heard not only Elizabeth's voice, but two other female voices in the same room as well.
"Is it me or are they speaking Spanish?" Dean whispered as he clicked off his flashlight and quietly approached the bedroom.
"It's not just any border Spanish, Dean," Sam clarified as he too clicked off his flashlight, "it sounds more like Spanish from Spain. I wonder why though."
"Thanks for the language course, Sasquatch," Dean threw over his shoulder at Sam sarcastically as he turned the knob and headed inside, his brother closely following.
Sam was just about to suggest that they should at least knock first, but decided against it after his brother's last remark.
He wished he should have voiced his suggestion to his brother after he saw what was waiting for them on the other side of the door.
As big and spacious at the bedroom looked upon entering, it now looked small and overly crowded now that the two huge, broad-shouldered brothers, averaging well over 6 feet, had entered at their own risk.
Dean's breath was taken away by the sight of a dark-haired girl situated at a window overlooking the streets, clearly on a lookout for the local authorities. But to say that he was taken away by her beauty would probably be an understatement once he realized that the gun that she had in her hand was now aiming at his head, the look in her eyes saying that she would not hesitate pulling the trigger.
He soon noticed another girl sitting on the edge of a big king size bed also holding a gun in her hand, this time aiming it at Sam's head. He quickly ignored her and locked his eyes with the one near the window, holding a silent conversation with her as if daring her to shoot. After a while, she conceded, lowering her weapon enough to not pose a threat, but not lowered enough to show that she was still in control, looking at him with complete distrust.
Apparently Elizabeth hadn't gotten around to telling the other two that she met the Winchesters on her way on exploring the kitchen.
"What the hell are you two doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave?" Elizabeth fired the questions at them at once while signaling to the two women to put down their own weapons.
"Please don't tell me you've lost your way around the house." She said this last with an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, making it look like it was their fault she was getting a headache.
She soon looked up at her sisters when she felt their eyes on her, silently asking questions of their own. Might as well get it over sooner now rather than later. "This is Sam and Dean Winchester," she said, indicating to the two men, making the introductions. Turning to the brothers, she said, "This is Monica," indicating to the woman standing near the window, "and this here is Jennifer," indicating the woman sitting on the bed.
Once everyone acknowledged one another, Sam asked, suddenly intrigued and yet very wary of the three hunters, "So what exactly are you three hunting?"
Jennifer blinked at him and said, "A werewolf," as if it was the most common thing in the world.
"Really? Well, what kind of werewolf do you know that can not only maul their victims and go after large rather large families, but has been able to change when there is no full moon?" Sam continued his interrogation, looking from one sister to the next.
"True. That's not a MO for a typical werewolf, which is why y'all should just leave and let us take care of it." Monica said, turning towards the window, folding her arms and keeping a lookout.
"How do you know you're even hunting a werewolf? It could be something else." Sam countered, looking to his brother to back him up in this conversation.
Dean, Sam noted, was not exactly paying attention to where the discussion was heading, but was instead observing the interaction between his brother and the three hunters. Sam noted as well that the only person who Dean's eyes kept glancing back furtively is the one that is succeeding in not wanting to look at anyone, more specifically Dean, and instead settling down to look out the window.
"Well, what else do you think it is? A demon?" Elizabeth asked patronizingly as she sat down on the bed next to her sister, folding her arms and crossing her legs, and looking at both brothers. She too noticed that Dean is mighty interested in Monica, and she is not happy about it.
"Could be," Sam conceded, "but whatever it is, there is no possible way that a werewolf could have done it. I mean who knows? A black dog might be the one behind it."
"I don't think Cujo might have anything to do with it. Let me ask you something. Have you done your research lately?" Jennifer asked innocently as she too folded her arms and crossed her legs, also not intimidated by Sam's tall frame.
For the life of him, Sam could not remember a time where a female made him feel so obtuse, so unsure of himself, and so inadequate like what Jennifer was doing to him. So what if he didn't do his homework to find out if there was another cause for the murders? All he knew was that there was nothing in werewolf lore that mentioned that they could skin the victims alive. So, of course, it has to be something else.
"W-What do you mean?" Sam stuttered after a moment in silence, suddenly uncomfortable.
As if by some miracle, Monica recognized what Jennifer was doing and what Sam might be feeling, and decided to play referee before things could get ugly. Only very few have actually experienced Jennifer's destructive ways. It wasn't that Jennifer is a bad person, far from it, but she does tend to unknowingly break people down by going after their morals – what builds up their self-esteem. In the case of Sam, she went after his capability of doing research – something he always prided himself in.
"Please forgive my sister Sam for she does not know when to shut up." Monica said, glaring threateningly at her sister while Jennifer was glaring right back at her.
"Anyway, the research my sister was so kind enough to mention," Monica continued, glaring at her sister when she sarcastically said the word 'kind', and then turned her attention to Sam, "was that even we made sure that there wasn't anything else supernatural going on."
"But how do you know it was a werewolf? Do you even have any substantial evidence pointing to the cause of a werewolf?" Sam asked desperately, hoping for these girls to see his logical point of view, knowing for sure that he is right.
"Listen to me Sam," Monica said, her voice lowered and clear, looking like her patience is running thin, "because I'm only going to say this once. We have been tracking this werewolf for some time now, and it has led us here. Both Henricksen and Montgomery had assured us that it is here. Granted, we don't know where, and we as sure as hell know that the murders last night were not your average werewolf MO. So the simple truth is, is that the creature we are looking for is indeed a werewolf. If you want to, you and your brother could tag along and we'll prove it to you."
The name 'Henricksen' struck a chord within Dean and for the first time since the conversation started, he found his voice and decided to join in.
"Henricksen?" Dean asked, puzzled if he heard that name right.
Sam who had been so engrossed in the discussion, almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of his older brother, clearly forgotten that his brother was in the same room.
Apparently Elizabeth and Jennifer jumped too as well since they forgot that Dean was in the same room, but amazingly Monica was not the slightest bit surprised at hearing Dean's voice for the first time. Actually, she was waiting for it.
What she wasn't waiting for was the sudden feeling of butterflies in her stomach when she made the mistake of making eye contact: dark brown eyes meeting hazel green eyes for the first time.
Monica was the first to break the eye contact after what seemed like an eternity, not knowing what that small contact was making her feel. She knows she feels a tad bit interested in him, but she does not want to find out what that might lead to. She's not just willing to lay down her guard and let someone like him (those kinds of guys mothers usually warn their daughters about) take advantage of her.
"Yeah. As in Victor Henricksen. Of the FBI." Elizabeth stated, not liking Dean at all and what he was doing to her sister.
"I thought he was dead." Sam imputed, also unsure if they are talking about the same man he and Dean met not too long ago.
"It's a long story best saved for another day, but to make this incredibly long story short, he's very much alive and protected. Oh, and he's not part of the FBI anymore." Elizabeth said, not at all surprised that they knew him.
"And Montgomery?" Sam inquired.
"That would be my husband. He worked with Henricksen on the same case he was obsessed about. You know the one about bringing in the elusive Dean Winchester." Elizabeth informed, liking the idea that she knew more about them than they knew about her and her sisters.
"How'd you know about that?" Dean asked, deciding once again to join in the conversation.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Elizabeth said smiling smugly as if she's the cat that got the cream.
After a hard poke in the ribs from her sister though, she relented. "Fine. How the hell did you think you and Sam went under the FBI radar for so long before the 'accident' where Henricksen 'supposedly' died?"
When neither brother had the faintest clue, she continued, "My husband, Michael, kept on giving Henricksen false leads after he found out who you were…of course, that was after the little stunt you two pulled with the bank incident. He was reassigned to another case when they started investigating him of falsely leading Henricksen."
"So your husband was helping us? Why?" Dean asked curiously. One of these days if I can strike up the courage, I'll ask pretty little Monica on a real date. What the hell? 'If I can strike up the courage'?! I'm not a freakin' teenage boy asking a girl out on a first date! Get back in the game Winchester.
"If there was one thing I learned from time spent on hunting, it was that no matter how much of a jackass we hunters can be to each other, we always protect each other from the rest of the world. Well at least that's what we thought at first before we met Gordon and then Bela." Elizabeth said as she shared a dark look with her sisters, each remembering about the two hunters who almost cost them everything.
Dean and Sam looked at each other, both of them at a loss for words knowing that the sisters were sharing a private moment, but at the same time, both were now more curious as to what Gordon and Bela did to them.
"Ah guys," Monica said suddenly when she turned back to the window. Making sure she had everyone's attention, she said, "We better wrap this up 'cause five-O's on the way."
TBC...
A/N: If you guys like to see some improvement on this story, pretty please (with a cherry on top) leave a review. I would love to hear what you guys think (good or bad) and I'll be truly grateful! I know chapter 1 was boring and maybe this one too...but there will be hurt Dean later on... And once again, big thanks to darksupernatural and Muffy Morrigan! You guys rock! :D