Of Hunters and Agents part 3
Title: Of Hunters and Agents
Author: Rosedraquia
Summary: When Tony, Gibbs and Dean are trapped in an underground survival course by a serial killer, what will they do? Are the Agents willing to work with a known murderer in order to survive? And is everything truly as it seems?
An: Because every Supernatural fanfiction author needs a cross-over with some version of a crime series :).
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this plot.
xXx
2 hours later
xXx
By this point Tony was feeling the anxiety starting to get stronger with every minute. It had been hours and so far they had had to swim for 3 minutes underwater though a tunnel, swing across a spike filled pit and edge through a room filled with enough snakes to give a guy a phobia. At this stage the Indiana Jones references were long past old and getting into the repetitive. It didn’t help that he would start one and Dean would finish it. Him being on the same wavelength as a psychopath was not helping his apprehension levels. So far they had only gotten one call from Abby, letting them know that the rest of the team was helping and so far they hadn’t found anything overly revealing, the call ended with more promises of caution and Abby telling them they were doing great.
It didn’t help that by this point Dean had had many an opportunity to kill them. The first trial, the one that involved being underwater for extended periods of time, had begun with Dean going first saying he would come back if there was an opening on the other end and if he didn’t then it was a dead end. The thing was he did come back, and when both he and Gibbs got out on the other end it was to Dean holding open a trapdoor which could be locked from the outside. All Dean would have had to do was get out first and lock the door behind him. They would never have made the swim back. But it looked like he didn’t even contemplate it, he simply made a joke about holding breaths and libido; to be honest Tony was too busy trying to catch his breath and get over his momentary panic attack at the sight of Dean with the trapdoor to pay attention.
He was vaguely regretting that now, he got the impression the joke was one to be remembered.
The second trial (after an extended walking period where the unease first started to truly creep in) involved the spike pit. Dean hadn’t even hesitated, he simply leapt at the rope and swung across, but he didn’t let go of the rope when he got to the other side and it would have been fairly simple for him to cut it with that knife they knew he had. He and Gibbs would have had to double back and hope for another route; but instead Dean had tossed the rope with enough momentum that they didn’t have to jump at all, they simply caught it and then swung across one at a time.
The snake pit didn’t even bare thinking about. Tony suddenly had a much better appreciation for Indiana Jones and his apparently very healthy fear of snakes.
All in all, Dean wasn’t acting like the hairpin homicidal maniac that he had been made out to be. In fact, he was acting a lot like it was his job to get them out not only alive but relatively intact. It was driving Tony vaguely insane, trying to catch glimpses of the murderer Dean had been portrayed as. By this point in his career, Tony was fairly good at spotting murderer’s, especially when he knew who the murderer actually was. There was just something about them that, no matter how good an actor they were, hinted at the ruthless calculation beneath.
But while there were definite hints of ruthlessness within Dean, they were never directed at either Tony or Gibbs, only at the killer that had trapped them all. He supposed in some ways it made sense; if Dean was a serial killer himself then it would be pretty galling to get caught out by another one...it’s just, that wasn’t really the sense he was getting from Dean.
Judging by the vaguely frustrated look Gibbs was wearing and the fairly pointed questions he was asking (‘How are you so prepared for all of this?’ ‘Why are you not worried?’ ‘What would you do if you were the killer?’), he was also getting annoyed by that feeling of things-not-adding-up. The questions should also have sparked some suspicion, but Gibbs was doing it in such a way that it seemed he was simply interested in Dean’s lifestyle, rather than Dean himself.
Therefore when Zeppelin suddenly started blaring, both Tony and Gibbs nearly reacted with violence, they were that on edge. Dean, on the other hand, only started slightly before fishing his phone out of his pocket. Considering they had all gone for a swim, Dean three times as far as them, that phone was incredibly durable.
“Sammy?”
Dean stopped walking, and taking the hint both Tony and Gibbs moved to different walls; Gibbs to lean against and Tony to slide down and sit alongside.
‘Hey Dean. You ok man?’
“Yeah, Sammy. Though that prick had us swim underwater! My jackets’ never going to be the same again.” This was said mournfully as Dean gazed at the crinkled and drying material. Considering they were underground their clothing was still slightly damp, despite it being a few hours by now since their underwater adventure.
There was a muffled chuckle from the other end before the younger responded,
‘Dean, I think if that jacket was ever going to give up the ghost it would have done so long ago.’
Dean grimaced but stopped his jacket-inspection to peer ahead of them at the hallway,
“Bad turn of phrase there Sammy. So what ya got for me?”
‘Yeah, sorry. Basically I’ve found out who the guy is and where he lives, I’ll go scout out his house and see if there’s anything that hints at where you are. The phones will probably cut off soon, so we probably won’t be able to contact each other after this.’
Tony started and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. They had been searching for this perp for 2 months and hadn’t found hide nor hair of who he was, and this guy goes looking for a few hours and finds him? What the fuck?!
“Good going Sammy. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
The last was said with a smirk and Tony couldn’t help grimacing. From what he had heard about the Winchesters, there wasn’t much either of them wouldn’t do.
‘Oh, and Dean?’
Even they could hear the grin in Sam’s voice, and it was with understandable hesitation that Dean answered,
“Yeah Sammy?”
‘Bobby says you’re an ‘idjit’ and that if you get shot then there will be words.’
Dean grimaced, looking vaguely put out.
“Dude, you told Bobby? What the fuck man?”
There was definite laughter this time and despite himself they could see Dean’s lips twitching into a smile.
‘Sorry Dean, but I needed help putting together some of the signs. That led to your little situation and Bobby’s inevitable exasperation. You should’ve known he would find out eventually, he knows everything.’
“Yeah...well. I make no promises. Bitch.”
‘Jerk.’
Ending the call Dean shook his head in what could only be fond exasperation before turning to face where they were watching him with vague curiosity.
“Well come along kiddies! Lets get this show on the road.”
Rolling their eyes Tony stood up and Gibbs pushed himself off the wall, patting themselves down before continuing onwards.
“So. Who was that?”
Obviously Gibbs already knew who Sam Winchester was, but Dean hadn’t mentioned his brother yet so this could lead to some interesting information. Also there was no information about a ‘Bobby’, and clearly he was fairly influential to the Winchesters. Info on either of them could be invaluable. Dean simply shrugged and continued down the hallway, continuously scanning his surroundings.
“That was my little brother Sam. I called him before waking you guys up, he’s pretty good at finding people (especially me) when they disappear. He went looking for the bad guy so that he could find us. Now that he knows who it is, we’ll probably be outta here pretty soon.”
That sounded a lot more ominous than Tony supposed Dean intended to make it sound. A psychopath who knew how to find people? Even when they were in underground mazes that various law enforcement agencies had attempted to find since the original murders 53 years ago? Yeah...not ominous at all.
Gibbs, though, simply shot a curious look at Dean, seemingly not as worried about that information as he perhaps should have been.
“Why doesn’t he just go to the police? Surely they could use the information to find us more effectively.”
Deans automatic snort said a lot about his belief in police forces in general.
“Nah. My lil’ bro can find us a lot faster than any police. They got all sorts of red tape they have to cross before they can get anything done. But my brother isn’t trying to catch the guy, just trying to find us. So he’ll do what needs to be done without worrying about warrants or evidence. Shit like that.”
Now both Gibbs and Tony’s eyebrows were raised,
“But surely that will ruin any investigation the police have been making. It could contaminate evidence and cause the perp to get off.”
Dean looked back and smirked,
“Oh, he’s not going to get off. Don’t worry, me and my brother will get this guy before he can kill anyone else.”
A chill worked its way up Tony’s spine at those words, a sudden suspicion making itself known. One of the things that had always confused people about the Winchester case was the fact that the murders always seemed to start before they arrived, and finished by the time they left. Also, various witnesses always seemed to claim that the Winchesters had saved them though they would never elaborate on how.
By the looks of it, the Winchesters were actually vigilante killers, going from town to town and murdering the murderers. It didn’t make what they were doing ok, in some ways vigilantes were almost worse than psychopaths because they thought that what they were doing was the right thing. Motivation is often a very powerful force, causing all sorts of mayhem when gone about the wrong way. Of course, the Winchesters were also insane, because they claimed to be fighting supernatural creatures. Then again it did give them a solid insanity plea, which they apparently had no compunctions against using.
Gibbs gave a noncommittal grunt, his expression darkening as he met Tony’s eyes behind Dean’s back. Clearly he had reached the same conclusion as Tony about Dean and Samuel Winchester. These two were some really messed up bastards.
They continued to travel in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts. It was probably because they were so distracted that they didn’t notice the slight discoloration of one of the tiles until Tony was standing directly on it. They all froze as there was a soft, almost silent ‘Click’.
Dean turned at once and his eyes immediately latched onto where Tony’s foot had sunk slightly, the pressure pad dropping with his weight. While Gibbs and Tony took a second to realise exactly what had just happened, Dean reacted instantly.
“Down!”
Throwing himself forward he tackled Tony to the ground, covering him with his body. Behind them Gibbs did the same, flattening himself to the ground even as holes appeared in the walls around them and the hallway was filled with ‘twangs’ as crossbow bolts flew out and ricocheted off the walls.
Sounds filled their area for a short while before with a final clatter the last bolt rolled to a stop a few feet away. Waiting a few seconds, Tony didn’t so much as twitch as above him Dean cautiously looked around before finally sitting up with a wince. Gibbs made his way to his feet a little way up the hallway, looking around cautiously and nudging a bolt with his foot. Dean stood up slowly and Tony sat up before taking Dean’s hand and letting himself be hauled upright, his heart gradually slowing down and the adrenaline fading from his system.
“Fuck. Bobby’s going to be pissed.”
Eyes snapping to Dean, Tony felt his eyes widen as he took in the bolt lodged in the back of Dean’s left shoulder, obviously having ricocheted into him from where he had covered Tony. Tony couldn’t quite believe it, other than a small wince there was no other sign that Dean was affected by having a crossbow bolt lodged into his shoulder. He hadn’t made a sound even as it happened. What was wrong with this guy.
“Christ! You ok Dean?”
Even as guilt started to creep up on him, Gibbs was moving forward and holding Dean still as he felt around the wound, ignoring Dean’s wince.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just going to have to get this outta me. Gibbs, you mind doing the honours?”
Gibbs eyed Dean, judging how prepared he was before nodding and gripping what he could reach of the bolt with one hand.
“On three then. 1. 2-”
With a vicious yank Gibbs wrenched the bolt out of Dean’s shoulder and dropped the bloody metal to the ground.
“3.”
Dean meanwhile, started swearing up a blue streak.
“Son of a Bitch! Holy fucking Shit! Ngh!”
Visibly biting back on more vitriol he aimed a glare at Gibbs, who despite the situation was smirking slightly, Tony watched as Gibbs reached out to pat Dean on his uninjured shoulder.
“You’ll live.”
Dean’s glare magnified ten-fold as he muttered sarcastically,
“Yeah thanks for that, you sadistic old man.”
Even that didn’t dampen Gibbs smirk, and Tony couldn’t help grinning at the two of them, having been in similar shoes to Dean in regards to Gibbs’ sympathy. Seeing the lack of compassion he was receiving Dean started muttering under his breath while carefully taking off his jacket and removing one of his knives, he proceeded to slice off some hasty bandages to wrap around his shoulder. Both Tony and Gibbs helped with that, and for a few short minutes they forgot that the person they were helping was an alleged murderer, all Tony could think about was how there had been no hesitation when Dean had tackled him. It was rather odd having a killer fear for their safety. Though Tony really hoped this didn’t turn into a Hannibal/Clarice moment, he paused and grimaced when he realised he had just compared himself to a girl. The grimace expanded when he realized that Dean Winchester was just the right shade of insane to consider eating him should the situation require it.
They took five minutes to rest after that, needing to relax after such a close call. Dean took the time to check his phone and inform them that he wasn’t receiving a signal anymore, so for the time being they were on their own. Eventually they hauled themselves to their feet with Dean once more taking point, they began the long trek through the underground course.
xXx
tbc
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 5