Victor, Meet Spoils
K Hanna Korossy

The file was thick, and he flipped through the pages distractedly, reading entries as his eyes fell upon them. Always looking for that elusive clue...

Collins, Haley (Lost Creek, CO; Interviewed: 11/22/06): "Dean, and his brother Sam, are the reason I and my brothers are alive today. They both risked their lives to help me find Tommy (see: Collins, Thomas), and kill the creature that took him. I don't know why you're looking for them, but I want you to put it down in your little notebook there that those two guys helped me when Park Police was ignoring me, and I'll swear to that in any court you put me in."

Warren, Rebecca (St. Louis, MO; Interviewed: 12/08/06): "I don't know how many times I have to tell you people, Dean Winchester was not the person who attacked me. It was someone pretending to be him. I've known Sam since he was a freshman at Stanford, and you're never going to find a more gentle person. He and Dean were just trying to help my brother, and Zach's free because of him. Why won't you listen to me? It wasn't Dean—I should know."

Sorenson, Thomas (Reverend) (Ankeny, IA; Interviewed: 12/21/06): "Look, I don't know exactly what happened the night I was attacked, I must admit. But one thing I can tell you for certain: that young man, Sam, he came to my rescue and saved my life and my daughter's. I have no doubt in my mind about that. I wish we had more upstanding young men like he and his brother in our community."

Scott, Emmett (Blueridge, IN; Interviewed: 01/09/07): "I can tell you this much: those two killed our town (Burkittsville, IN). I don't know if it was a prank or what, but they burned down the apple orchard we thrived on, and the town just died away after that. Still haven't heard a peep from the Jorgensens (May; Peter)—you might want to look into that, too. I knew something was wrong the moment the shorter one tried to give me a phony name: those two should be locked up for the rest of their lives for what they did to us."

Geier, Hazel (Des Plaines, IL; Interviewed: 01/28/07): "I don't know what you're bothering about those two young men for. They don't have an evil bone in their body—they just stayed with me for a few days while the younger one healed up from an accident he was in. I don't know what kind—do I look like a doctor? Why don't you go look into some real crimes, like what happened to those suspicious Burroughs' (Eric; Monica; Missing Persons case #101180135233) who lived next door, and quit wasting taxpayer money running down two innocent boys?"

Miller, Alice (Saginaw, MI; Interviewed: 02/18/07): "I've already told this to the police so many times: they were friends of Roger's (husband), I don't know from where, and when Max (stepson)…when Max showed up with the gun, I called them for help. It wasn't their fault Max killed himself; he had…problems. I'm not going into that again. But Dean and his brother, they were just trying to help."

Gallagher, Andrew (Guthrie, OK; Interviewed: 03/21/07): "Yeah, I mean, they were totally cool. Saved Tracy (Sherman, Tracy), kept Webber (Corman, Webber; see also Weems, Ansen) from killing me, I mean, really saved our skins…uh, what else do you want to know?" (Interviewee is a pillar of the community and beyond reproach, as well as intelligent and charming.)

Ballard, Diana (Detective) (Baltimore, MD; Interviewed: 05/05/07): "As stated in my report, not only was there no evidence connecting Dean and Sam Winchester to the Giles (Anthony; Karen) murders, they also risked their lives to help me when Det. Sheridan (Peter) attacked me. Looking back on the questionable details in the St. Louis investigation and the obvious fact that Dean Winchester is still alive, I suggest Louisiana reexamine their evidence." (See also: Hudak, Kathleen (Deputy, Hibbing PD); Evans, Jules (Detective, Santa Rosa PD); Missiger, Robert (Officer, Allenstown PD), attached.)

Walker, Gordon (Inmate #33906551, Indiana State Prison; Interviewed: 06/10/07): "I'll tell you what Sam Winchester is: evil. Dean, now Dean I can believe is just looking out for his brother, although there's no question the man is brainwashed and a danger. But Sam is an abomination, a demon walking around in human disguise, and mark my words, you will hear great and terrible things from him if he isn't put down."

Sauer, Sheri (Milwaukee, WI; Interviewed: 07/03/07): "I don't know what happened, okay? I mean, there was this…woman who looked just like me, only she was dangerous. They thought I was her at first, and, yeah, fine, that was a little scary, but they never hurt me, and the tall one, Dean's brother? He got me away from her. I think they were the good guys, but it's just…it's all still kind of confusing, you know?"

Reynolds, Patrick (Father) (Providence, RI; Interviewed: 07/15/07): "I can't break the sacred confidences of my office, but I will tell you this: Samuel…Winchester?…is a good man who was instrumental in stopping a string of murders in the city. I strongly suggest you look elsewhere for your evildoers. That's all I have to say."

Chisholm, Cathren (Plano, TX; Interviewed: 09/01/07): "That's him, I'm sure of it. Said his name was Sam. Had kind of a creepy grin, but he was hot and into me, so I didn't worry about it. We had some smokes, did a little dirty dancing—know what I mean? Didn't even think about it when we went out into the alley. That's where he…you know. He punched me when I tried to stop him. But the weirdest part was when his eyes went just…black. Scared the h-- out of me. I'm telling you, he was some kind of monster or something. But I never saw the brother."

Benchley, Tara (Santa Monica, CA; Interviewed: 10/06/07): "Dean was awesome. I mean, like, the best PA we've ever had, but more than that, you know? Just smart and funny and cute. But yeah, after he left, the weird deaths on set stopped, too, which, y'know, was a relief. I mean, you know how hard it is to make a movie with people dying around you? I'll never forget all the…three?…guys who got killed. Or Dean."

Rosen, Diana (Cicero, IN; Interviewed: 11/28/07): "Those two men saved my daughter. I thought…someone had stolen my car and drowned Katie in the lake, which is the most…I can't even tell you how terrible that was. But whoever it was had kidnapped her, and those men—yeah, that's them, but they never told me their names—they found her and brought her back. Katie told me they broke her out of a cage. A lot of other kids, too—you should go talk to them, and find the monster who did this, not go after the people who saved her."

Trotter, George (Elizabethville, OH; Interviewed: 12/01/07): "They're hoodlums. I had some good, legal businesses running, and those two came in and dried up a lot of my income. How should I know how they did it! All I can tell you is that since those two were here, one of my bars went out of business and another one's almost there, my right hand man disappeared, and my best bartender is dead. You'll notice, people stopped dying after they left, too. Maybe you should be looking into that instead of my financial affairs."

Caldwell, Douglas (Ypsilanti, MI; Interviewed: 01/03/08): "I don't know how much I can tell you. I mean, it sounds crazy when I say I was kidnapped by Santa Claus. None of it makes a lot of sense, really, but I do know they got me out of that hellhole of a…bag I was trapped in. The guy with the dark hair, he stayed and talked to me until we could hear the ambulance. Maybe we're spending Christmas in a hospital, but without those two, I don't think I'd be here with my family at all. So, yeah, don't ask me from what, but those two saved me. They're heroes in my book."

Ressler, Doris (Oakland Park, FL: Interviewed: 2/01/08): "Yeah, they ate breakfast here one time. Don't remember much about them except the younger one seemed kinda twitchy, took off before his brother was even done eating. I don't remember anything suspicious about them, though. We did have a guy disappear at the Mystery Spot about a week before, turned up the day after I saw these two, as a matter of fact. 'Course, honey, there was barely enough left of him to bury by then, but at least his poor daughter wasn't left hanging. But no, can't say I remember anything more about those two. I only saw them the one time."

Victor flipped the file shut with a loud sigh. He'd almost memorized it by now, poring through the pages endlessly in search of some small piece he'd missed before, something that would explain the Winchesters. Something that would quell the little bit of doubt in the back corner of his mind.

Because he was sure he had them figured out, especially Dean: brainwashed by Dad, driven crazy by the time he killed his first "demon," then dragging his little brother into the life. It was textbook classic. At the same time, Victor had to admit, he'd never seen a profile like this in his fifteen years with the Bureau. Positive character interviews outweighed the negative at least four to one, including victims of crimes the Winchesters were suspected of. In fact, not only were the descriptions glowing, they used words like "hero" and "saved." Either those two were some of the greatest conmen Victor had ever seen…or there was more to the Winchesters than met the eye.

He knew which explanation he wanted to believe.

Victor smacked the desktop and grimaced, digging his fingers into his eyes and feeling his stomach churn acid. Not gonna get away from me next time. Those Winchesters wouldn't fool him as they had so many others; they were guilty as sin, had to be. And as soon as he ran them down and got Deputy Director Groves off his back, he'd prove it. Lot of people in the department would be eating crow after that one, and Victor was gonna be serving it up with an apron and a smile.

The phone rang, and he jabbed a button as he picked up. "Henriksen."

The voice was accented, young, female. "Agent Henriksen? I believe I can help you find something you're looking for."

Two minutes later, Victor was reaching for his cell and his jacket. About time.

Maybe he'd finally put all the different pieces together and get some answers now.

The End