Supply and Demand: Repeat Business Part 4/5 (SPN/Criminal Minds AU Crossover)
Supply and Demand: Repeat Business Part 4/5 (SPN/Criminal Minds AU Crossover)
Author: Tari_Roo
Rating: PG13 (Gen)
Fandom: SPN/Criminal Minds
Disclaimer: I own nothing, I profit from nothing. Although if I had my way Dean would grow his hair longer and Sam would cut his. Creative licence on historical accuracy and hand waving over actual facts. It’s an AU after all. That is all.
Summary: Criminal Minds/SPN Crossover AU. Mitch Koravi was dead, to begin with. But when a man is killed using his exact MO, the BAU have to eat humble pie and bring back the Empath told them their case was not closed, Dean Winchester
Spoilers: set somewhere during Season 5 of Criminal Minds, post ep 100 and AU for SPN (all seasons).
Chapter 4
Third crime scene - one Month ago
Reid, silent so far, gaze fixed on the still active crime scene said quietly, “There were several cultures in the Ancient Middle East, but notably the Assyrians, which mutilated and humiliated the rulers of conquered nations. They would pierce the lips or mouth of a defeated king, and attach a rope or chain to that ring, to lead him like an animal. They would also kill the children, notably the sons of the King before his eyes and if particularly vindictive, then put out his eyes so that the last thing he saw was the complete and utter defeat of his kingdom, line and throne.”
Reid was still staring that the horrific remains as he spoke, and Derek couldn’t help look himself, the blood spatter and gore wide spread.
“And the ... ah... dismemberment?” he asked.
“Flailing.” Everyone looked up at Emily, who had a file with NCIS stamped across it open, and she sighed, reading aloud, “Victim was flailed alive, direction of blade indeterminate, speculation from neck down. Skin and muscle removed pari-mortem, while rib cage, organs and inner musculature removed post-mortem. Blade length, size and diameter indeterminate.”
She looked up at them, and said, “This is the NCIS corner’s preliminary report and it’s pretty rudimentary. Matches the PD Coroner’s prelim report on Samuels, while yesterday’s victim is still being processed. Ah, Master Sergeant Matthews’ body was handed over to ... the NID? Who the hell are they?”
Rossi shrugged, asking for the report which Prentiss handed over, “I’m guessing yet another mysterious branch of our government. But the report, as vague as it is, is still consistent with our current murders. Did they have any suspects?”
At this JJ sighed and said, “Worse. They made an arrest, got a full confession and Sorenson is currently in federal prison.”
“Oh.”
Reid was bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, hmmming softly, “Four similar murders, months apart, one arrest. Either we have a miscarriage of justice or a partnership.”
“Doesn’t really match the profile - someone this out of control isn’t thinking clearly enough to run and wait a month, let alone maintain a partnership with another sociopath. Copy cat?” Rossi mused, flipping through the reports.
“Too soon for a copy cat who wasn’t involved, a sub partner or ...” Derek trailed off and then sighed, looking around the crime scene. The late morning sunlight was bright, the sun already hot overhead. There was a lot of work to be done but Derek looked at his team, who looked back and he said, “Alright fine, I’ll bring it up. Hotch is a damn Telekinetic? Did you know?”
Reid was shaking his head furiously, while Emily and JJ said no in unison. Rossi shrugged, “Not something he wanted bandied about. I don’t...”
“So you did know? And what... it’s neither here nor there that our boss, our SAC is a Telekinetic... and, what? Non-practicing? Lapsed?” Derek ignored the looks from Rossi and Prentiss, while Reid jumped in with, “Guess so, as he has never demonstrated the slightest affinity or ability, or...”
“Hold it, hold it.” Reid stopped, and they looked at Rossi, expectantly. “Yes, Hotch hid this from us, but it was his prerogative to do so, his right. And yes, I know it’s a huge thing to hide,” Rossi forestalled Morgan with an open hand, continuing, “but let’s be clear on something. Even if Hotch was the most powerful Kinetic on the planet, which he’s not, if he chose not to use it, not to tell us about it - we can - we need to respect that. It’s too damn easy hearing the word Kinetic and then expecting something else entirely. He’s Hotch, always has been and always will be, and this doesn’t change anything.”
There was a moment’s silence, until JJ sighed and said, “Only it does.”
Emily nodded glumly, sharing a sad smile with David before saying, “He is still Hotch, but now he’s also Hotch with the ability to turn on the lights, knock out a suspect, flip a car...”
Disgruntled, Rossi shook his head, “Hardly...”
“We’ve always teased him about how emotionally shut off he is, even before Hayley left him. And now we, I can’t help but wonder... about everything - if he’s that emotionally shut off for a reason, because of the ... Kinesis.”
Reid opened his mouth, thought better of it and sighed, “Guess it’s not really... any of our business. Hasn’t ever impacted his work or effectiveness.”
“Makes Chief Strauss’ concerns about his leadership abilities a little more... understandable. If she knows.” JJ said quietly.
“Oh, she knows.” Rossi stated simply. “But hardly justifies her behaviour.”
Uneasy, uncertain silence fell over them and Derek shuffled uncomfortably. “So we just ... act like nothing’s changed, huh? We get thrown a case that is linked to one solved by an Empath and suddenly Hotch is off to fetch him, because he’s a Kinetic and will save the Agency the fee of a handler?”
“I’m sure he’d appreciate it - us acting like nothing’s changed.”
JJ and Emily shared a look and then JJ said, “The NCIS case and ours must be linked, and we need to figure out how...if the unsubs are connected, know each other... shall I call Garcia?”
“I’ll call her,” Derek offered, turning away, pulling out his phone. Reid drew in a deep breath and said, “Someone should probably go interview Sorenson.”
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Train Station - Washington, D.C.
Having barely caught his breath from the last sprint, Derek nearly lost Winchester and Hotch in the press of people coming off a train, and he cursed loudly, both in frustration and anger. What in the hell was going on? Emily was behind him, he could hear her yelling over the phone and then, there was Rossi also belting hell for leather towards them.
Hotchner was really moving though, running like a pro, faster than the unsub had and he was pulling away from Winchester, who was flagging. Hotch ran right into one of the small restaurants in the station, scattering waiters and patrons and Derek managed to side step an armful of plates, which Winchester was not as fortunate to dodge.
The ensuing clatter of broken crockery and shouts was shattering and he didn’t hear Winchester’s cry of ‘Morgan, wait!’ before he was running into the kitchen, the back of Hotch’s suit jacket disappearing behind the tall shelves and equipment. He heard the back door slam shut, dodged a startled cook and then was shouldering his own way through. The alley behind the restaurant was quiet, startling so after the noise of the kitchen and on instinct he ran away from the street, turning the corner.
It took all of 3 seconds.
Derek turned the corner, spotted Hotch, yelled for him to stop, slow down, freeze and then wham! It was like running into a wall, again and Derek dropped to the ground.
They had outpaced the others and only Winchester had kept up for a while but right now, it was just him and Hotchner in that alley. Reeling, suddenly on his knees and a chill running across his skin, Derek looked up at Aaron looming over him, a distant, cold, cruel smile on his face and then pain unlike anything he had felt before ripped through him.
Three seconds and he was shirtless, on his knees, back arched in pain as a long slow ‘slit’ opened up along his spine and his mouth was on fire as a solid, brass ring twisted itself through his lips. Three frigging seconds.
Derek tried to move, tried to talk, anything, but he was frozen in place and as he looked up at Hotch, his heart thundering in his ears, he heard unfamiliar, ancient sounding gibberish spilling from Hotch’s lips and Morgan knew with certainty that he was dead. Aaron was smiling, a horrible, delighted smile and Derek could feel a blinding pain building behind his eyes and it felt like he was crying, the pain turning into a burn.
The stab of pain in his back was rising to a crescendo in concert with his burning eyes and as three seconds ticked over into four, Derek felt the ‘No!’ more than he heard it and a surge of energy rattled the alley, sending garbage can lids rolling and papers into the air.
Winchester staggered around the corner, breathing hard but his hands were outstretched, the electric aura around him tangible even to Derek. ‘Thank God.’
And Hotch stopped, visibly furious at the interruption, visibly irate at being denied. Aaron spat out something that sounded like an order and Winchester drawled, the strain audible in his voice, “No comprehende, sicko. Now get the hell out of him, before I toast your ass.”
Derek felt the line of agony on his back grow and howled through strained lips and felt the invisible force that surged from Dean, bolstering him, knocking Hotch back again, the line of agony disappearing. “Get out!” The rise in empathic energy was nauseating, Morgan tasting metal and blood, head swimming both in pain and from the sensation of raw anger, pushing at Hotch. Aaron however just laughed, a dusty dry laugh so unlike the rare chuckle that occasionally escaped him.
“Shit.” Winchester sounded seriously strained, and out of the corner of his eye, Derek saw the sheen of sweat, Dean’s hands visibly shaking with effort and felt his own desperation rise. ‘Please, please, please don’t let him kill me.’
Whether Winchester felt his emotional plea or not, he took a step forward, grasped the railing of the fire escape rising above them and gasped, “Sorry, man.”
If Derek had hair, he knew his entire head would have been an electrified fro as Winchester sent a crackling wave of very real electricity up along the metal. The snap and crack of ozone and electricity filled the alley, and Hotch took a wary step backwards, watching the play of sparks and curls along the metal. The invisible hold on Derek faded and his arms dropped, the ache in his back vanishing.
Hotch yelled out something unintelligible, pointing an imperious finger at Dean who was staggered back, but didn’t let go of the railing. The increasing charge was building and for a moment it looked like Hotchner, or whoever the hell was controlling Hotch, thought it was going to amount to nothing because a slow, knowing smile grew on that usually expressionless face. So it was a little funny that as the bolt of electricity jumped from the railing straight at him, the look of surprise was utterly priceless.
The bolt connected with a sharp crack of thunder, and knocked him flying, crashing in a pile of trash cans. Blinking back the negative images, the bolt replaying over and over in the air, Derek felt the invisible hold vanish completely and he dropped forward, hands barely breaking his fall. On all fours, breathing hard, it took a few moments to notice his mouth was open, the ring gone. Stunned he felt his mouth, noted the blood, but no wounds... and automatically he reached behind to feel his back and instantly winced... the cut was very much still there.
“Hey. HEY!”
Looking up, he saw Dean crouched over an insensate Hotchner, holding up one hand, checking for a pulse. Catching Derek’s shaken gaze, Winchester yelled, “Ya got any salt?”
‘Huh?’ His confusion must have been apparent, despite his lack of voice, because Winchester rolled his eyes and yelled again, “Come on! Anything?”
Remembering tucking a small packet of table salt into his pocket because... of some odd reason, Derek waved towards his neatly folded dress shirt and then couldn’t stop looking at that neat little pile of shirt, vest, ID and wallet. 3 frigging seconds.
Not even Winchester hurrying over and rifling through it could break the very real horrible realisation that... it had been that close. It had taken 3 seconds.
Winchester was muttering to himself loudly, “Come on, come on, stupid fr... got it!” Stunned and more than a little shaken, belated adrenalin surging through him, Derek watched Winchester lighting a pile of paper and salt... around the knife?
The little fire burned bright and hot and briefly, sputtering out after a sharp burst of flame. Certain that he had imagined the brief wail of despair that echoed through the alley, Derek looked at the unconscious Hotchner and stammered, “Hotch...”
“He’ll be fine.” Winchester didn’t sound too certain, but he was checking Aaron’s pulse again and despite being knocked on his ass by a mini lightning bolt, Hotch was still breathing. Looked pale and as still as death, but breathing.
And then, typically, Rossi and Prentiss came thundering around the corner, came to an abrupt stop and stared. Morgan knew it, they, looked pretty damn out of this world. Shirtless, bleeding and on his knees, he deadpanned, “That ambulance still nearby?”
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Normally, the hustle and press of paramedics and police officers was familiar, usual. But right now, Emily felt like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stand being asked one more time ‘What the Hell happened?’ and the capital H in hell was pretty damn audible.
Derek was being fussed over in the back of an ambulance, his back a mess but apparently not serious. Hotch was also in an ambulance but his was already heading towards the hospital, Aaron still unconscious. The EMTs had been unable to tell them if he was ok, or just ... hanging in there, and they had rushed him off, yelling about electric shock and heart damage.
Meanwhile, the milling Crime Scene techs and Police Officers were all adding to the confusion. The John Doe unsub was still on scene, the corner waiting to bag the remains. Reid was hovering near a Tech, waiting to see if an identity could be traced, while Rossi and JJ were handling the press, the DA and a few curious FBI agents. It was a real circus but luckily so far no had said the magic words ‘Kinetic’ or ‘Empath’ gone crazy, so it was just the usual hubbub of an arrest gone pear shaped. Rossi had agreed to keep the details of Hotch’s attack on Derek limited to ‘we’re investigating’ but they all knew that wasn’t going to fly with the DA and Chief Strauss for long.
Which was why Prentiss was supposed to be talking to Winchester to get a better picture of exactly what ‘had’ gone down. What had happened to Hotch, why did he flip out like that and in general pin point ‘What in the Hell had happened’ with all the capital letters.
Winchester however was a little on edge right now, pacing back and forth, a tight ball of controlled... emotion? There was a very distinct ‘bubble’ around him and anyone who got too close, quickly backed off - the vibe coming off him was intense - a miasma of anger, guilt, pain and stress.
But Emily ‘needed’ to know, had to know, so she took a deep breath and marched over, refusing to rub her arms as the hairs stood on end as she got closer. Ignoring the prickle of tension in the air, she said, “Dean.” He didn’t stop pacing but he did look at her, face unreadable even if his anxiety was palpable.
“Ah, I ...” Emily started and then abruptly changed tack and simply said, “Is it over? The whole weird feeling thing ... anger and betrayal and ...”
Winchester was nodding, and said calmly, “Weirdo vibe is gone. Hotch... Agent Hotchner should be ok.”
Emily couldn’t help herself, “Should?”
“I hit him pretty hard.”
“Oh.” There wasn’t much more she could say to that except, “We have to tell ... them something.” She waved over at the crowd, Rossi and JJ talking very fast. Dean was silent, contemplative but nervousness was leaking through. Eventually he said, “Its gonna ... stretch the imagination... more than usual.”
Emily nodded, not really sure why she was but they needed to give people answers. Winchester looked at the growing crowd as well and sighed, “Tell them it’s a T&E matter. The usual protocols.”
“But?”
“Look, unless Hotchner is awake to explain his side, anything I say is gonna make people nervous and jump to conclusions.”
“Galvaston conclusions?”
“Freaky weird ass shit that sounds a lot like a ghost conclusions.”
Emily just stared at Winchester who stared blankly back before saying, “You know what they do to crazy Empaths and Kinetics?”
That was an easy one and she said it without thinking, “Lock them up for life.”
“Lock them up for life,” Dean repeated, the emotional leakage overwhelmed by a surge of fear, very real fear. Emily nodded, sharply and said, “Any excuse, right?”
His nod was firm and Emily stalked off towards Rossi and JJ, who looked immensely relieved when she arrived. “Agent Prentiss, tell us something good.”
Not sure what yarns they’d been spinning, Emily dived straight it with, “We’re calling T&E in - the usual protocols with the press, please.”
The FBI Agents looked relieved, as did the District Chief and they nodded and backed off. The DA however shook his head angrily and said, “That’s damn cop out. People have been murdered and the moment T&E step in, justice goes out of the window. How do I answer the victim’s family, the ...”
Emily sympathised, and she injected as much sincerity as she could, “Dean, the Empath assures me that it’s over, this is over. And I hate to say it, but if rumours start flying around about psycho Empaths or Kinetics on the loose, any justice you might want is going to get buried in panic and vigilante mobs.”
The DA paled, shot a nervous glance in Dean’s direction and said, “You certain... he certain?”
“No and that’s why we’re calling T&E in. Their methods suck but the last thing we need are local, law abiding Kinetics and Empaths getting attacked. Privacy laws aside, these things have ways of leaking out.”
Nodding, the DA said. “T&E and their damn laws are affront to our constitution but hell if I’m going to tell the Mayor why there are riots in downtown D.C. You keep me in the loop, you hear?”
Rossi was glaring at Emily, even as JJ saw the DA off, and Prentiss shrugged, helplessly, “You wanna jump to conclusions without Hotch being awake to explain exactly what ‘he’ was doing to Morgan?”
At that Rossi deflated a little and nodded, “No, not really. But are we really calling T&E?”
“No, just getting everyone else off Hotch’s back. Too many people saw John Doe take that dive and then Derek run off without injuries. We can’t fudge the timeline...”
“Do we want to?” Reid chipped in, face earnest, “I assume we want the truth, no matter how bad it is.”
Rossi shook his head, “Hotch has had the year from hell and if we can smooth this over, make it go away, then I am all for that. He hates this Kinetic crap, far more than we do. So if we can make everyone else think T&E’s handling it and then pull the wool over T&E’s eyes... I’m ok with that.”
JJ sighed, “You’re just not ok with Winchester taking the lead, calling the shots on this one.”
“Yes.” Reid was nodding too and Emily whispered sharply, “Even after all this - he was right, you know.”
Rossi nodded, undeterred, “Right or wrong, doesn’t change the fact that we’ve got no clue what just happened, we’re taking his word that it’s over and two of our team are in the hospital. The guy is a sociopath, highly skilled manipulator and an excellent liar. Do not for a moment believe that he is not able to lead us down the garden path to whatever story best suits him.”
“But,” Emily sighed. However Rossi ignored her, saying instead, “He was right about Koravi, but here we sit, without Hotch - the only one who we could look to to verify anything he says and I can promise you now, the first thing out of his mouth is going to be - you can’t send me back, you need me to sort this out. And then some long spiel about there being a T&E conspiracy or shit like that.”
Emily felt utterly torn. Rossi had a point and well, Winchester’s file was thick and contradictory but... it really stretched the imagination that someone could manipulate events like this. But she couldn’t deny that they hadn’t seen smarter, more resourceful sociopaths than Dean Winchester pull off minor miracles in misdirection. JJ seemed hesitant, and perhaps it spoke to Rossi’s point that the two women on the team were most sympathetic. Although, Morgan...
Derek was watching them, his face grim, clearly picking up on the tension. Emily said clearly, directing her words at Rossi. “Whatever we decide, we wait till Hotch is conscious and we all agree on it... alright?”
Reid nodded, as did JJ. Rossi was slow to agree, but did so nonetheless. The circus of paramedics and cops was already dying down as T&E protocols were implemented and Emily waved reassuringly at Morgan as she hurried over to Dean.
No doubt he had picked up on the emotions of their conversation, if not the actual content. He was no longer pacing, just leaning against a wall, staring off in the distance, at a point across the road. Out of habit she checked as well, noting that it looked like someone was watching from the pool of shadows between the side street and a shop window. The moment passed though, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud and Dean straightened. “You done arguing?”
Her smile was half hearted and Emily said, “Told the cops and the DA that T&E were taking over. But everyone else... has questions I guess. Lots of questions.”
“Go figure.” He had tampered down on the emotional leakage, which right now was not selling his believability unfortunately. So Emily asked, “Freak conclusions aside, is it over? Once you and Hotch explain?”
Winchester nodded, arms folded now, and said, “Yeah.”
She wanted to ask, wanted to probe, find out if Rossi was right, if he was going to feed them a story in order to stay out of T&E’s direct control. But there was nothing forthcoming so she shrugged, “We’re going to follow Derek to the hospital - kay to ride with me?”
“Sure.” He shot one last look across the street and then followed her.
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Across the Street
“See, he’s fine, Sam. That navy cop got you worked up over nothing.”
“NCIS Agent. And I don’t know, Dean looks a little... thin?”
“Come on, it’s not like he couldn’t afford to shed a few pounds, they’ve probably got him on a nice healthy diet. No more burgers and fries.”
Sam leant against the cool brick of the wall, slouching into its solid presence and sighed, “I... it’s kinda weird seeing him and not being able to ... feel anything.”
“Sure, but it’s not like you can do anything about it, Sam. Even if you contracted into T&E, you’d end up sharing him... like that’s going to work well and still keep hunting.”
Sam nodded absently, watching Dean talk to the FBI Agents, his gestures slow, posture slumped. “He looks tired.”
A snort, “They’ve just chased down some guy, come on ... let’s go before he sees us.”
“Maybe I should at least...”
“You know he’d feel what we’re doing, what we’re trying to accomplish, Sam. You know he won’t understand.”
“Yeah, I know, Ruby but still... he’s right over there.”
“And Lilith is still out there,” Ruby hissed, gesturing wilding in a vague back there direction. “Dean’s not safe, you’re not safe, no one is safe until you take care of Lilith.”
Sam declined to answer, running his hand over his mouth and face, torn with indecision. “Maybe Dean could help... I mean...”
Ruby’s laugh was rife with derision, her smile mocking, “Yeah... that’ll work, Sam. You two on the run from T&E, the Feds, hell the whole world while trying to track down Lilith who will take one look at Dean, see he’s your weak spot and take him out. We’ve got her on the run, Sam. We can’t lose momentum now.”
Straightening, Sam nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets and muttered, “Yeah, I know.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Kay.”
With one last, lingering look, Sam turned. And left.
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A/N: I know, I suck J