Five of a Kind 4/6
“Do I have to wear these?” Adam asked, motioning to the black-rimmed eyeglasses that Dean had bought at the convenience store that morning. He sounded more like twelve years old than twenty.
Sam grinned, but kept his eyes on the L.A. city map and let Dean take the question. They were already wearing their G-man duds.
“Yes,” Dean replied, not missing a beat. “They match your coveralls.”
Adam was next to the motel room’s mirror, wearing a set of gray coveralls, with a generic computer security company’s logo on the left breast. He would be playing the accompanying computer tech to Sam and Dean’s Homeland Security duo. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best Dean had been able to…borrow just before dawn.
The glasses did help sell it. Sam tried hard to hide his smirk, for Adam’s sake.
“They look ridiculous. Can’t I just be another DHS agent, like you guys?” Adam asked again, for the third time.
Dean shook his head. “You look too young for that. Sorry, man.”
Adam pointed an accusatory finger at Sam. “And his hair’s too long to pass as an agent. Let him play the tech, he fits the part!”
Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Dean beat him to it, waving dismissively. “Dude, nobody pays attention to hair. Besides, I couldn’t find a jumpsuit in his size.”
Apparently, Adam caught Sam’s smirk that time, because he folded his arms and his voice took on a hard sarcastic edge. “Yeah, I can see that. It’s hard to find clothes in Sasquatch sizes.”
“Hey!” Sam objected, turning to his feuding brothers.
Dean nodded without looking up from his duffel. “You’re tellin’ me…”
Sam furrowed his brow. “Hey! I’m standing right here, guys.”
Adam huffed, leaning against the wall. “I look ridiculous.”
Dean sighed, straightening to face him. “You look fine. Stop worrying. You just stay behind us and don’t say anything. We’ve done this a hundred times.”
Sam bit back a reminder to Dean of how he’d reacted the first time they’d had to dress up to gain access to a crime scene. It wouldn’t help, but he made a mental note to tell Adam the story later. He spoke up before Adam could reply. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoying watching Dean assert his particular brand of big brother authority, but they had work to do. “I’ve been checking the map again, Dean, and I think you’re right. This water plant is right in the middle of the action. This thing could have made it to each location and back in the dark without too many people seeing it.”
“What I want to know,” Dean shot back, zipping up the duffel and placing it by the door, “is how this thing can get close at all without someone-anyone-noticing a giant monster stalking around.”
Sam scratched idly at the back of his neck. “Well, Adam and I were talking about that while you were gone last night. Maybe this thing can make people see what it wants them to see.”
“Or at least see something less threatening than what it really is,” Adam added, fussing with the zipper on his jumpsuit.
“Right,” Sam continued. “Like a siren, or a rakshasa, or a crocotta. They project this glamour onto humans that hides what they really look like until they attack. Kind of like how some animals use camouflage.”
Dean frowned. “Okay, I’m with you so far. So, I take it we’re looking for a person, right? Not a car or a tree?”
“Probably.” Sam shrugged. “I mean, all those other creatures project people. I think a tree moving around would attract attention.”
“And if this place has security cameras, we’ll be able to see it on those,” Adam said.
“Yeah, stands to reason.”
“See?” Dean piped up. “We’re not just dressing you up for no reason.”
Adam shot him a sideways glance, but seemed to relent. “Fine. But next time, if we have to dress up I want to pick the disguise.”
Dean nodded, a little too pleasantly. “Sure. Next time we’re in L.A. hunting a giant lizard that’s eating people, you can decide.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
Sam had to cover his mouth before he laughed at the look of murder that crossed his little brother’s face. He rose quickly from the table and hoisted his own duffel over his shoulder, pushing Dean toward the door. “Let’s go! Daylight’s burning. Hey, grab the laptop bag, Adam.”
He had Dean out the door and headed for the Impala before the younger man could speak.
<<<<<< >>>>>>
The Joseph Jensen Water Treatment plant was huge. The website had stated its size at 125 acres, and standing on the premises, Adam could easily believe it. It consisted of a collection of white and gray concrete buildings, connected to a series of twelve vast water basins that were crisscrossed with large steel girders and piping. Dotting the rest of the complex were large tank farms, offices, and what looked like large runoff areas.
It seemed like an excellent place for something to hide, especially if it laid low and only came out at night. Though, the thought of something hiding in the water basins, and doing God-only-knew-what in them, had Adam seriously rethinking his use of water while they were in town. He’d have to stick to the bottled stuff.
Dean had parked next to the main administration building on the southeast side of the facility. The water basins dominated their view on the left. On the right over a rise, a forest of power line towers extended across the horizon, marking the site of a power transformer complex about a mile away. Despite being in the midst of a residential area, the plant covered such a wide area that the buildings and grounds seemed isolated from civilization.
They headed up the stairs that led from the parking lot to a white- and wine-colored office building. Adam hung back a few feet, letting Dean and Sam take the lead and present a united front with their dark suits. It gave him the chance to discreetly examine the surroundings while his brothers talked their way past the manager.
Speaking of, the manager finally appeared, walking toward them from a long hallway next to the receptionist’s desk. He was a plump, balding man with round, dark-rimmed glasses, and was wearing a well-worn, tan button-up sweater. When he stopped in front of them, he stood almost a full head shorter than Sam.
“I’m Alex Nichols, plant manager. Good morning, Agents…?”
Dean produced a polite but friendly smile and motioned to himself and Sam in turn. “Mr. Nichols, I’m Agent Page, this is my partner Agent Jones. We’re with the Department of Homeland Security.”
Nichols nodded to Sam in greeting, glanced back at the receptionist, then turned back to Dean. “Homeland Security, yes, Madelaine mentioned that. Um, this is…unusual. What can I do for you?”
Dean glanced around the mostly empty reception area. “This is, uh, somewhat sensitive. Is there some place we can speak in private?”
“Certainly, certainly.” Nichols beckoned them toward the corridor, and led them deeper into the building, past several glassed-in offices. One side of the corridor was made up of floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a grand view of the basins and piping outside. Nichols’ office was at the end of the hallway, unlike the others featuring a wooden door and full wall.
To Adam, Nichols looked nervous. He probably wasn’t used to getting surprise visits from the Federal government. He ushered them inside, then closed the door and walked around to stand behind his desk. Adam hung back near the door and watched his brothers whip out their stern cop/compassionate cop routine on the hapless supervisor.
Dean started in with his all-business voice. “Mr. Nichols, are you aware of any recent terrorist threats against your facility?”
Some of the color drained from Nichols’ pudgy face at the words. He stammered for a moment, shifting from foot to foot. “Um, no. My gosh, no. I’m not.”
Sam broke out a comforting smile. “Mr. Nichols, I’m sorry. We thought our superiors had already informed you.”
Nichols shook his head, looking a little shaken himself.
“DHS has intel that seems to indicate this treatment plant as a possible target for terrorists. We were ordered out here to consult with you.”
“The Secretary is announcing an elevated alert tomorrow,” Dean added, using that business voice again. “We’re supposed to inspect the site ahead of time so we can be ready.”
Adam kept his face carefully neutral. If someone didn’t know better, they’d never suspect that Dean had just read a lot of those words for the first time a few hours before. Nichols didn’t appear to know better.
“My Go-here?” Nichols sank into his brown padded office chair. “What-what do they have planned?”
Sam held out his hands to caution him. “Now, we said it was possible. All we know for certain is that the threat is localized in this area. A water treatment plant that processes so much drinking water for Southern California is at the top of our list for suspected targets. That’s why we’re here.”
It was Dean’s turn. “We’re going to need to see your security camera footage for the last few weeks.” He pointed to Adam. “This is Paul Doucette. He’ll check to be sure your system is up to our specs. We need to see your personnel files on anyone who’s recently been hired.”
Nichols mouth was hanging open. “You mean it could be someone on the inside?”
“We realize this is all happening fast, and we just sprung this on you.” Sam reached into his inside coat pocket, withdrawing a business card emblazoned with the DHS logo. “Here, talk to our supervisor. He’ll give you all the details and the authorizations we need.”
Nichols stood and accepted the card, studying it. “Deputy Director Robert Singer?”
“He’s in our Midwest Field Office,” Dean supplied. “And this is a time sensitive operation, so if you don’t mind, we can wait right outside?”
“Of course,” Nichols said quickly, already dialing. He looked a lot less comfortable than he had when he’d come out to meet them.
Adam followed Sam and Dean out into the hall, closing the door but leaving it cracked open enough to hear the conversation Nichols was about to have with Bobby.
Dean broke into a grin as soon as they were alone in the hallway and spoke softly. “So far, so good.”
Sam shook his head. “Laid it on pretty thick in there.”
“Nah.” Dean waved him off. “Homeland Security is supposed to scare people.”
Adam smirked and cocked an eyebrow. “Dean, you do know that I was pre-med at UW, right? I don’t know anything about security systems.”
“That’s why Sammy will be with you.”
“Where will you be?” Adam asked with a frown.
“Personnel-” He broke off when he heard Nichols calling his name from inside the office.
That hadn’t taken long.
They re-entered the office. Nichols was standing by his desk, tapping the edge of the business card on the phone receiver. He didn’t look happy.
“Well, gentlemen, everything seems to be in order.”
Adam breathed a silent sigh of relief. Bobby could be very convincing.
Nichols was frowning, though. “I have to tell you, this is all very disturbing. I mean…it’s been years since we worried about anything like this.”
Sam appeared sympathetic. “Well, new threats are appearing all the time. We have to investigate them so we can be sure that we don’t have to worry about them.”
“I suppose so. I couldn’t do your job.” Nichols ran a hand through his thinning hair nervously. “So, tell me what you need from me.”
Dean nodded at Adam and Sam. “Well, first let’s set these two up in the security office.”
<<<<<< >>>>>>
The security room was in another building behind the Admin offices. Nichols led them over and introduced them to a security guard, who was on duty watching the screens. After instructing the guard to give them any help they needed, and setting Sam and Adam up on one console to review the past several weeks of footage, he and Dean excused themselves and went back outside.
“All right. What now? The personnel files?” Nichols asked, rubbing his hands together.
Dean gestured toward the rest of the facility. “Actually, would you mind if I looked around first? I’ve never been to one of these plants, and our briefing was spotty.” He figured he could back off the stern agent image a bit. Nichols was proving to be helpful, and he was obviously freaked out by the whole terrorist story. Dean felt somewhat bad about that, but it was something easily believable. Certainly a better approach than “hi, we’re here to kill Godzilla.”
Nichols seemed to get excited at Dean’s request. “Oh. Certainly. I’ll show you around myself.”
Dean smiled. “That’d be great. And, Mr. Nichols, relax. We’re here to help.”
The manager calmed a little, and led Dean over to a row of parked golf carts. Awesome. They climbed in one and Nichols steered the cart around the perimeter of the plant. As they began the impromptu tour, Nichols seemed to brighten. Dean got the impression that not many people showed interest in his work.
“This is the largest water treatment plant west of the Mississippi. We can deliver up to 750 million gallons of water a day. In case you’re wondering, that’s enough water to fill the Rose Bowl in less than three hours.”
“Wow,” Dean said, eyes widening. He was legitimately impressed by that. Nichols beamed at his reaction.
Nichols continued, driving them along and naming buildings and utility sheds as they passed. “We employ about 1,800 people, mostly maintenance and technicians. Still, the plant is highly automated. Computers and sensors monitor everything: pressure, temperature, water levels. We supply all over the valley, Ventura County, south to West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.”
Dean nodded. Nichols really was proud of his work. He kept up the cover, though. They had a job to do. “I can see why this was a priority target.”
Nichols sobered a bit. “So, do you get these calls often? The threat warnings, I mean.”
Dean shrugged slightly, eyeing the surroundings as they drove for any signs of their monster. “Eh, maybe fifty a year.” Sounded like a nice, round number.
“Fifty? Really?”
“Most of them don’t lead anywhere,” Dean explained, making it up as he went. “But like I mentioned, we run them all down to be sure. Every now and then you get one like that guy who put the bomb in his underwear-”
“The one in Detroit?”
“Yeah, but that’s rare. Most of the stuff we find doesn’t make it far enough to be a problem.”
Nichols slowed as they approached a line of ten tall, silver tanks. “Here we have ammonia storage tanks. We use ammonia and chlorine to purify the water as it flows through.”
“That safe?” Dean asked, inspecting the tanks as they slowly motored by. Dean’s eyes were drawn down to the ground, where he spotted similar dark stains to what he’d found at the rec center. More blood. He wondered why no one who worked there had noticed it yet.
“Well, the ammonia is safe. Very hard to ignite in air. Chlorine gas, though, is poisonous, so we store that in solid form. We dissolve it in the water.”
“Kinda like cleaning a pool,” Dean commented. His eyes tracked the erratic stain pattern until it disappeared behind another utility shed. It seemed to be leading in the direction of the huge basins.
Nichols chuckled. “Not too different actually. Let me show you the basins.”
He turned the cart and began traveling north. “In front of us here, we have the ozonation building, our maintenance division is inside, and it houses the main purification tanks. We actually just finished a major remodeling about five years ago. Renovated, brought up to code, heavier freight doors for security purposes.”
Dean noticed more blood stains across the pavement, leading into the building Nichols described. He glanced over at the manager, but he didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Nichol’s lack of reaction to the obvious definitely supported Sam’s glamour theory. Whatever their lizard was, it seemed to have the people there completely fooled.
<<<<<< >>>>>>
Sam sat next to Adam, wading through three weeks of security camera footage. The console had two widescreen monitors, each split into four images. Nichols had informed them that there were twenty cameras on-site, so Sam picked the eight closest to the basins and drainage areas to start out.
Unfortunately, their quarry seemed to come out only at night, so that meant they had a lot of daylight recordings to burn through where nothing of interest to them was happening. That quickly went from deadly dull to sleep-inducing, and he noticed Adam pinching the back of his hand under the console to keep focused. Sam talked to the guard on duty to keep his mind from wandering.
“So, it’s just you on duty?”
The guard seemed happy to be talking to someone. Sam could understand that, even having watched the screens for only fifteen minutes. “During the day, yeah. My relief will come on at five and work ‘til dawn.”
“Twelve hour shifts?”
“Yeah,” the guard snorted derisively. “There used to be ten of us, but they’ve been cutting the budget for two years. Now we only have three. We switch off days in here. Howard walks the grounds during the day and covers my breaks.”
“What about at night?” Sam asked, trying to get a feel for the security situation.
“Five on the night shift crew. Custodial mainly, all outside. Thompson watches the cameras. Doesn’t get a break, but he gets paid extra to do it. Better him than me.”
Sam nodded, taking note of the information. The guard motioned at the screens Sam was watching. “So, what exactly are you looking for?”
“Anything that doesn’t belong here,” Sam replied easily.
The guard chuckled. “Well, get comfortable. Nothing ever happens at this place. You’re going to be watching three weeks of nothing.”
“Excuse me,” Adam interrupted. “What is this?”
Sam turned. Adam was pointing at a dark shape in the water of the farthest basin from the Admin building. The shape wasn’t moving, but stuck out on the bluish-white camera feeds. It was darker than anything in the other basins.
The guard stood and stepped over, looking for himself. “Oh, I don’t know. It started showing up a few weeks back. I asked the techies and they said it’s either a sediment concentration or some optical illusion in the camera lens. They’ve gone out and looked, but there’s nothing unusual in the water.”
“Mmm, fair enough,” Adam conceded, shooting Sam a glance the guard couldn’t see.
Sam nodded faintly. That was not “nothing.” There was something in the water. The cameras could see it.
“Say, you guys mind if I step out for some coffee?” the guard asked, stepping toward the door. “There’s a machine downstairs.”
“Go for it,” Sam replied. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“You want anything?”
Sam shook his head.
Adam sat back and stretched his shoulders. “Cream and sugar?”
“Sure thing.” The guard walked out.
When the door closed behind him, Adam tapped the screen where the basin with the dark object was displayed. “I don’t think that’s sediment. It’s on the previous day’s tape, too.”
Sam concurred. “No, that’s our boy, I bet. How long ago is that?”
“Dated three weeks ago. Just appeared one day.”
Sam pointed to the keyboard. “Advance to the next day. Then fast forward to nighttime, see if we can catch this thing on the move.”
Adam went to work on the controls as Sam watched the video feed advance. The younger man slowed, then glanced at the door, and to Sam, before going back to the console.
“Can I ask you something?”
Sam blinked at the oddly formal tone his brother had slipped into, but nodded. “Shoot.”
“Why are you guys working this case?” Adam asked, keeping his eyes carefully on the screen.
“What do you mean?” Sam frowned.
Adam paused, discomfort showing on his face. “I mean…well, it’s obvious you two didn’t want to do this.”
Sam shot him a confused look.
“Sam, come on. I’m not dumb. You both wanted to stay in Mexico.”
Sam hesitated. He’d hoped his and Dean’s reluctance had been more hidden, but their younger brother was observant. They’d trained him a little too well. “Uh…well-”
“I mean, I get it,” Adam continued. “I loved it down there, too. But, you two have earned it, you know? I could have come up here, checked it out, and called Bobby back for you.”
“We wouldn’t ask you to do that,” Sam pointed out quickly.
Adam finally turned to look at him, his expression earnest, but tinged with some remorse. “But, I would have.”
Did he feel he’d forced them to come here? Sam smiled faintly, bumping his shoulder against Adam’s. “I know. We know. You don’t have to worry about proving anything to us, okay? Besides, we owe Bobby a lot. We came up here because he asked us to.”
Adam observed him for a moment, then turned back the screen. “What about after this? You gonna want to go back?”
Sam heard the catch in that question. Do you want to go back? Adam didn’t. He generated a game smile and deflected. They didn’t need to have this conversation at the moment. “Let’s handle ‘after’ after. All right? We’ve got Godzilla by the tail.”
If Adam knew he was evading, he didn’t show it. He just went back to the video controls. A moment later, the guard returned with the coffee. Adam thanked the man for his, but stayed quiet after that. Sam studied the blond hunter out of the corner of his eye. They’d been through a lot together. To Hell and back, literally. He had a pretty good idea of what Adam would want to do after this job.
He’s young, and he wants it, Sam thought, not sure whether he was jaded or envious. He kept his face neutral, and ignored the fact that he didn’t have an answer for his little brother’s question.
<<<<<< >>>>>>
“Is this all of them?” Dean asked, eyeing the thin manila folder Nichols handed him. There were only a few forms inside.
“Yes, that’s all six. We hired Doctor Hernandez six months ago-he’s one of the chemical specialists-and the five nighttime custodial staff just came on last month.”
Dean flipped the pages. Hernandez had a full file, a photo, and a copy of his ID card. The next five forms were spotty, with only one name on each and no pictures. “The custodians are all named Savalas?”
“Yes, they’re brothers. Quintuplets, actually.” Nichols laughed lightly. “I’d never met any in real life. It’s hard to tell them apart sometimes! We had a three-man crew before, but for some reason they all quit. Same day, about a month ago. We were lucky to find the Savalases. They came looking for work the day after the crew quit on us.” He stared at Dean, eyes glazed over a bit.
Dean looked at him more closely. The manager had been fine a moment ago, but he looked a bit blank all of a sudden.
“They did? Ah.” Dean nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on Nichols, who sounded almost like he was reciting from memory. “And, uh, no photos?”
Nichols shrugged with another laugh. “Foul up at the photo lab. We took photos, but none of them came out.”
Dean mouthed a silent “Oh.” “Well, that sucks.”
“It’s all perfectly normal,” Nichols replied mechanically.
“Mr. Nichols, are you all right?” Dean asked, keeping his tone calm.
Nichols blinked, and was back to his normal, jittery self. “Hmm? Oh, yes. Why do you ask?”
Dean caught the change. “Just…doing my job. Um, can we head back over to the security office?”
Nichols led him back to the second building, chit-chatting nervously as he’d been doing all morning. Dean noted that, like earlier, Nichols used an electronic keycard to enter the building, but the inner door to the security office wasn’t locked.
Inside, Sam and Adam were still looking at security footage. Daytime feed was displayed on Adam’s screen, and nighttime on Sam’s. He noted Adam making a silent gesture to one of the four images on Sam’s screen, and Sam freezing the image.
“Have you gents found everything you needed?” Nichols asked, sounding hopeful and apprehensive at the same time. He stopped just behind Sam’s chair, and Dean slid in quietly beside him.
“Everything seems to be in order here,” Sam answered, casting a casual glance over his shoulder to make eye contact with Dean.
They found something.
Sam indicated the guard who was sitting on his left, nursing a mostly empty cup of coffee. “Mr. Nelson here was just telling us about this sediment buildup you have,” He pointed to a dark object in one of the basins on Adam’s monitor.
Dean looked for himself, following Sam’s subtle hints. “That’s normal?”
Nichols looked for himself, and Dean noted that glazed look come over his face again. “Mmm. That happens sometimes. All depends on the quality of water we have coming in from up north.” Nichols’ gaze shifted to the nighttime recordings on Sam’s monitor. “Oh, Agent Page, you were asking about the Savalas brothers. There they are.”
Dean followed where Nichols was pointing on the screen. It was a view of the basins at night. There weren’t any humans in the video, though. He blinked, wondering if he was seeing correctly. He saw two thick, dark-colored legs and a long, whip-like tail. The rest of-whatever it was-was obscured by shadows and the pipelines that ran above the basins.
Sam turned to look as well, and immediately froze the image. He swiveled his head. Dean met his intense glance and then took a moment to examine Nichols and the guard. Both were sporting that glazed over look again. Were they seeing people instead of a monster even on the video feed?
“This is the custodial staff?” Sam asked.
Dean thought he sounded a tad too casual, but it probably the best his brother could do considering. The other men didn’t seem to notice, anyway.
Nelson the guard answered. “Yup, that’s them. They work every night. Better than that last crew we had.”
“I’ll bet,” Dean agreed quietly. That explained the blood stains not being noticed, if the “custodial crew” were doing the bleeding. “Say, I need to consult with my partner here. Can we have the room a moment?”
Nichols and Nelson snapped out of whatever fuzz they were in and nodded graciously.
“Certainly.” Nichols replied.
They walked out into the hall. Dean thanked them and closed the door behind them. When he turned back, Adam was gaping in the direction of the door.
“What the hell was that? Can’t they see it?” Adam asked.
Sam studied the image. “Guess we were right about it being a lizard. A big one.”
“I guess that explains this.” Dean opened the manila folder he had brought from Nichols’ office and flipped it around for his brothers to see. “The night crew. No photos, no information, but ‘it’s all perfectly normal.’”
“There are five people listed here,” Adam observed, calling attention to something that had been plaguing Dean for the past few minutes.
“Yeah, I noticed that. I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“Maybe there’s more than one lizard,” Adam said, a frown forming on his face.
“Savalas,” Sam muttered, glancing over the mostly empty file. “Greek name.”
Dean frowned at the non sequitor. “That important?”
Sam appeared pensive, but shook his head. “Dunno.”
“So we have a Greek dinosaur-or dinosaurs-running around L.A.?” Adam asked, lowering his voice as he glanced at the door. “What’s it doing out here?”
“Not selling baklava, that’s for sure,” Dean said, setting aside the question of how many monsters there were for the moment. “Let me guess, that dark blob appeared a few weeks back?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, but it only shows up on these monitors, so it’s naturally just an optical illusion.”
Dean snorted. “Yeah, naturally. I guess we’re right about this thing being able to trick people into not seeing it. These guys act like their hypnotized, though.”
“Maybe prolonged exposure?” Sam suggested. “This thing’s been projecting on them for weeks.”
“Or maybe it’s more than just a glamour,” Adam countered.
Dean and Sam looked at him.
“Think about it, it, or they, didn’t just hide here, it got a job, gave a name, a cover story.”
Dean suppressed a groan. “Great, I hate monsters with brains.” It shouldn’t have surprised him, they’d hunted creatures that had assimilated into human society before. “Well, this thing isn’t killing anymore people. I don’t care what its IQ is.”
He stepped back to the door and beckoned Nichols back inside the room. “We’d like to ask the Savalas brothers a few questions. What time do they usually get here?” Might as well play into what Nichols already believed.
“Um, about five-thirty, after most of the staff has gone home. Is there a problem with them?” Nichols seemed agitated, no doubt assuming the worst about the terrorist plot.
“Just playing a hunch,” Dean answered smoothly. “We’re sure they’re innocent of any terrorist connections. We have a…conference call with Director Singer starting at five, but maybe you could meet us back here around sunset? We’d like you to be here for the interview.” Well, your keycard, anyway.
Nichols seemed uncertain, but after a few moments he agreed.
TBC