The beeping of the alarm woke Evelyn up from a deep sleep. With a groan she smashed the snooze button and pulled the covers over her head, blocking out the sunlight that peered through the curtains. She was regretting her fourth glass of whiskey.
'Get up and stop whining…' Evelyn muttered to herself. Squinting her eyes against the bright light she swayed her legs over the edge of the bed. Her head was pounding, her muscles ached after yesterday's hunt and her knuckles were bruised purple and blue. While looking for a clean shirt in her duffle bag, she checked her laptop. Bobby had sent her several articles from local newspapers about people whose lives suddenly had turned around for the good, winning lotteries, getting major promotions or becoming famous on tv but who then randomly, unexplainably died the next day.
Demons or witches were the first things that crossed Evelyn's mind, although the accidents did not fit the regular pattern. With a frown on her forehead, she began to change into her formal fake-FBI uniform. This required a visit to the local police station. She quickly put on her high heels, put her hair in a neat bun, her gun in the holster just underneath her knee-length skirt, big knife in the inside pocket of her suit and the usual small one in her bra. With the bag with papers, badges and mobile phone on her shoulder, she left the motel. To make a more formal impression at the police station, she decided to leave her motor behind for now. As if it did not already raise enough eyebrows when a female FBI agent came to investigate a case in a small town like this one. As soon as she closed the door behind her, her phone rang.
'What? Evelyn picked up without looking at the caller screen, crossing the motel parking lot with a brisk pace.
'Just because you just got out of bed with a major hangover, miss sunshine, does not mean you can greet me like that. '
A smile formed around Evelyn's lips. 'Goodmorning to you too Steven.'
'Hey babe. Did you have fun last night?'
'Shut up.' Steven always used nicknames like babe and sweetie on purpose, knowing Evelyn absolute hated it. 'If you mean making a 100 bucks and knocking a guy out cold, then yes, my night was A+.'
'Well that does sound like you. Good to hear you are still going strong out there. Just wanted to give you a heads up that your mom is back in town. You might want to stay away for a bit longer. She has been asking about you.'
'Funny. She never made any effort to contact me. Is that dickbag with her?'
'No, I do not think he dares to show his face around her again, not after what you did to him.'
'Good. If I ever see that asshole again I will break his leg as well.' An older woman passing Evelyn on the sidewalk raised her eyebrows in shock. 'Tell mom I am not there.'
'You don't think I already did that. She does not take no for an answer. When will you be back?'
'I was planning on coming back for a bit in two weeks. But if she is still there, I might be gone longer. She is the last person I need right now. Just tell her there is no way I am talking to her.'
'I understand, hey, hang in there, I know it is tough right now.'
'Thanks, Stevie. Speak to you soon.'
'Speak to you soon sweetheart.'
Evelyn put her phone away and tried to shake off the thoughts that clouded her mind, she should focus on the case in front of her. Personal stuff should be dealt with later, or preferably never. Nurturing her cup of hot coffee she had picked up on the way, she did not notice the Chevy Impala 67 that was parked in front of the police station. Only when she pushed open the door and looked up, she saw the two FBI agents standing in front of the desk, talking to the sheriff. She froze in her place, her stomach turning upside down. Shit. Why the fuck was there actual FBI? Since when did they investigate small cases like this?
Evelyn wanted to turn around and leave, but it was already too late. One of the police officers noticed her and tipped his hat as a greeting. 'How can I help you, ma'am?'
Quickly disguising the shock that had been expressed on her face for a few seconds, she flashed her badge. 'FBI, the Oregon office sent me down to investigate the case but I see you are already covered. It must have been an organizational error. The communication is always so bad between the departments and -'
'Oh, wait let me get them for you! They will probably need all the help they can get.' Before Evelyn could stop the eager deputy, he had already waved the guys over. Trying to remain professional and calm, she straightened out her suit and suppressed her nerves. Please do not let them get suspicious. If they were going to call their office, she would be in big, big trouble. She looked up and almost betrayed herself again when she recognized the two agents. They were the two brothers from the bar yesterday. Barely being able to contain the shock on her face, she quickly faked a polite smile and stretched out her hand. 'Good Morning agents, the name is Carter.' Dean's eyes flickered and a sly grin formed around his lips when he recognized the girl standing in front of him. 'Nice to meet you, Agent Carter. The name is Johnson. This is my partner Smith.'
'Hi.' The tall guy shook her hand and nodded politely, giving no sign of recognition.
Judging by the cheap suits and the fact that she had met the two in a run-down dive bar gambling and drinking the night before, they were definitely not FBI. And seeing the look on Dean's face, he had the same idea. Whatever these two were doing here, she did not need them sticking their noses in her case, making it impossible for her to actually hunt.
Luckily the sheriff was unaware of the awkward tension between the three agents in front of him. 'They will be able to fill you in on the details agent Carter since I just handed all the files about the case over to them. If you will excuse me, I have several important phone calls waiting for me.' He tipped his hat and made his way towards his office.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Dean gave her a cocky smile. 'So, Emma Carter is it? How nice that we meet again. Did not really expect it to be in these exact circumstances.'
Hoping that her cover wasn't blown, Evelyn quickly replied. 'Agent Johnson, I can assume that we are both professionals and that whatever happened yesterday will not interfere with this case. Or do I need to call the office to ask what you guys are doing here since I thought this would be an individual case?'
Agent Smith, who still not seemed to recognize her, intervened before Dean could reply. 'Oh no, I am sure that won't be necessary. How about we discuss the files with a cup of coffee?' He exchanged a quick glance with his brother, who nodded in agreement, a glinster in his eyes. 'Sure Sam, I definitely think we have to talk about some stuff.'
He gave her a knowing look and lowered his voice as soon as his brother started walking towards the door. 'For example, I would like to learn more about your tattoos. And not only the ones on your arm…'
Evelyn rolled her eyes and gave him a foul look, this was going to be a very interesting cup of coffee.
Dean knew that Emma wasn't an FBI agent, she couldn't be. For starters, agents never looked like this, with the tattoos and scars. Besides, seeing her gambling and drinking the night before did not really fit the picture of an authority figure. Getting more and more intrigued with this girl, he looked over at her while she ordered drinks at the counter.
'You know she is no FBI, right Sam?' He averted his attention to his brother sitting next to him at the diner table. 'She is the same girl I met at the bar yesterday, who punched out that guy dead cold.'
Sam frowned, looking over to Evelyn and back. 'Really? So what is she doing then…. Wait, do you think she is a hunter?'
Dean shrugged. 'Well, she sure drinks like one. The scars and shitty motel fit the ammo. Give Bobby a call, he should know.'
'I have never heard of a solo female hunter...'
'Me neither, which surprises me, I mean look at her...' Dean grinned while his eyes scanned her body, a soft whistle escaping his lips.
'Dean, keep your pants on.' Sam shot his brother an annoyed look and averted his attention to the files in front of him.
Evelyn, while waiting at the counter for her order, took her phone out and dialed Bobby.
'Yeah, Evelyn?'
'Hey Bobby, quick question, do you know any hunters that go by the name of Dean and Sam?'
There was silence followed by a deep sigh on the other side of the line. 'Those idjits. That are the Winchesters… Didn't know they were working a case in Oregon, would have given you a heads up otherwise.'
'Winchesters. Fuck, okay. Well, I heard enough about those two to know that they have experience. Seems like we might have to work together. Anything else important about them?'
'Despite the stories, they are good guys and good hunters. Just stay away from Dean, he flirts with everything that has two legs.'
'Yeah, found that out already. Thanks, Bobby, speak to you soon.'
She pocketed her phone and walked back to the table with two hot coffees and a tea in her hands, taking a seat opposite of the two men. Knowing that those two were hunters didn't make it any easier. Evelyn hunted only with others when she couldn't do it on her own, and even then she chose hunters she knew personally and who would be professional, quick and who did not interfere any further with her personal life. Judging from the stories she had heard about the Winchesters she had decided she would try to stay away from them as far as possible. But now it seemed their paths had crossed and she needed their help if she wanted to get any further in this case.
Before she could say anything, Dean grinned. 'So, Emma, apparently we fit the same job description...'
She must have had a puzzled expression on her face because Dean pulled out his phone. 'As soon as you finished your call, Bobby texted me, saying that we better make sure you get back in one piece.'
Evelyn let out a small smile. 'Even after all these years he still worries...'
'So you are a hunter and you know Bobby Singer? How is it then we have never met before?' Sam shot her a friendly look while sipping his hot coffee, clearly more relaxed now that he found out the FBI agent in front of him was indeed a hunter.
'I try to steer clear of too much trouble, and judging by the stories I have heard, you two go looking for it.'
'Haha, and how is that working out for you, being a hunter and all.' Dean looked at her with a grin on his face. Evelyn's smile didn't seem to reach further than the corner of her mouth, leaving her eyes unchanged. Sam, who noticed Evelyn tightening her grip on the mug, quickly changed the topic. 'So, ehm, since all three of us are here, how about we look through the info we have and try to solve this case together? A fresh pair of eyes is always welcome.'
'Well, I didn't drive all the way out here for nothing, so why not. What do you guys have so far?'
Dean glared at the girl opposite of him from the corner of his eyes. She was deeply engrossed in one of the case files and absently played with her necklace. It was a delicate, thin gold ring with a blue and red stone on a gold chain. Judging by the fact that it was the only piece of jewelry she wore, it must be a valuable item to her. Now that she was sitting opposite of him and had taken off her jacket, he could study her tattoo sleeve better. The art piece existed of a tree, it's black roots stretching out from her elbow towards her wrist, circling and braiding around her arm, entwined in symbols and images. From her elbow onwards the tree expanded into branches, the leaves formed by dates and words. Dean recognized a few of the ornaments, like an anti-demon possession symbol and a pentagram. Others were more difficult to place, like some of the words that were written in a script that he couldn't translate. He was fascinated by her, to say the least, even more than he was last night. Emma wasn't exactly his type, with frizzy, bushy red hair, a scar that ran from her left cheek to her ear, one on her right eyebrow and a tattoo sleeve, but with her confidence, fit body, sparkling eyes, and great ass, she had seemed like a perfect distraction for the night. But now, after finding out that she was actually a solo female hunter, he got even more intrigued with her.
He got pulled out of his thoughts when Evelyn started to speak. 'So the deaths just seem to be major freak accidents right? No further connections between the three victims?'
Sam frowned and grabbed his book, quickly going over the notes he had gathered. 'They died while in perfectly good health, within the span of five days. And get this, just before they got killed they seemed to get on a big luck streak. One of the victims, Berny Silvester, won the lottery after he found a ticket on the street, another, Sarah Clearwater became famous after she sold one of her art pieces for thirty thousand dollars while never before having sold any of her work.'
Evelyn frowned and raffled through the dossiers again. 'And the way they died has no correlation either, right? They just seem the result of sheer dumb luck. Here, David Eriksen died because a piano fell on his head?! That is something that only happens in cartoons...'
'There is definitely something weird going on here… Could be demons or witches?' Dean raised his eyebrows questioningly.
'But the time frame doesn't fit demon deals unless they are interpreting their contracts very creatively. Or we are dealing with demon possession, which makes even less sense. Why go through all that luck and then kill off your vessel.' Evelyn took a sip of her tea and pulled the map of the town towards her. 'To find out more we should investigate the bodies to look for any signs of witchcraft or demonic possession and talk to the relatives and friends of the victims.'
Sam nodded in unison. 'Yeah, that is the best step to take here. If we split up, we can cover more ground.'
Dean reacted eagerly. 'Well, Sam you can already start talking to some of the families of the vics since you are good with people and all that. Emma and I will inspect the bodies up close.' He wriggled his eyebrows with a smirk. 'And after that take a look at the houses of the victims to see whether we can find any clues.'
Evelyn sighed and shook her head, unable to hide a small smile. 'You are disgusting Dean. But I think you already know that.' She had noticed him eyeing her all morning long and had tried to ignore it. After finding out he was a hunter, her gut feeling had become only stronger. Although he was really good looking and had a hell of a body, something she would have gone for any day, her mind was not at it right now and she would never ever begin anything with a hunter. Not even for a night.
'So, how long have you been hunting?' Dean tried to act as casual as possible while he zipped open one of the body bags, but he had clearly been dying to ask the question. Now that the eager deputy was finally gone after offering them coffee four times and showing them almost the entire office plus every little detail in the morgue itself, they were alone.
'Coming up to seven years.' Evelyn inspected the body of Sarah Clearwater, who was killed by electrocution when her hairdryer had fallen into the bath. Apart from the fact that she had been toasted alive, there were no weird marks or signs to be found. 'Started when I was nineteen.'
Evelyn tried to keep her answers as short as possible, definitely not wanting to go in on this with Dean. 'Find anything?'
Dean shook his head and pulled a disgusted face. 'Apart from the fact that you can clearly see this guy has been hit by a piano, nothing.'
'Nothing here either' Evelyn said with a frown. 'It doesn't make sense, no marks of demon possession or any signs that could indicate witchcraft.'
Dean moved on to the next body bag. 'So, where are you from?'
'Have lived in too many places to count, so from nowhere and everywhere really.'
'Do you always hunt alone?' Dean continued.
'Can't a woman examine a dead body in peace?' Evelyn raised her eyes in annoyance, a small hint of a smile around her lips. 'And yes, I do hunt alone, most of the time.'
Dean, while bent over the corpse of Berny Silvester - who died after choking on fish bones while eating at a five-star restaurant with his newly won lottery money - continued to interrogate Evelyn. 'So, what is the deal with the tattoos. I get the anti-demon possession symbol, but what about the rest?'
Evelyn sighed and zipped up the body bag. 'Well Dean, that is none of your damn business. Hopefully, the houses of the victims have more to offer then this here.' She vaguely waved at the morgue, took off the rubber gloves and picked up her bag. 'You coming?'