Criminal Minds © CBS.

Part 20 of Shadows Within.

No Rest For The Wicked

Alan meets Sam and Dean just outside of DC. He's a tall, scrappy man, older than any hunter has a right to be and always with a cane by his side. Dean knows full well that cane is not for walking – Alan uses it to beat monsters into submission. It's made of silver and the grip usually is soaked in holy water. Alan is vicious, a lot like Gordon in that respect, but Dean and Sam like him anyway.

Dean leans against the hood of the Impala. "So, what's this new case you got?"

Alan grins and hands him an envelope. "McCreer pointed them out to me. Apparently one of them managed to survive a 20 foot drop."

Sam looks up. "And that makes them monsters?"

"Not alone. The man that fell wasn't with the others – but they all somehow knew the instant it happened. No cell phones were used in the making of this trick." Alan stuffs his hands in his pockets, keeping his cane tucked into one elbow. "So, whaddya say? You with me on this?"

"There's seven of them." Dean points out. "You planning on going up against them all by yourself if we aren't?"

"Maybe. It'll be a challenge."

"There's not just seven of them." Sam says suddenly. "They're all FBI agents." He glances at Dean. "That's not something to mess with, Dean. We get this wrong, and we're more screwed than we've ever been." Dean nods. The brothers have been on the wrong side of the law more than a few times, but they usually managed to get away through a combination of cunning and sheer luck. On the other hand, they also weren't deliberately attacking the law those times.

This time, there will be no escape if they screw up.

Alan shrugs. "Up to you guys. At least check it out with me."

Dean nods. "We'll check it out. For now."

/-/

It's not often Spencer Reid goes shopping on his own. The girls are out doing their own thing; Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan are stuck doing paperwork; and Reid wants to get out of the mansion. The boys are in school still. He can do a little grocery shopping, maybe get the stuff to make a cake, and be back in time to pick the boys up from the bus stop. Then the three of them can make a cake together and surprise the others (unlikely, but they'll still enjoy it).

He's in the baking section of the grocery store when he hears it.

Doesn't look like much.

Slowly, he glances over his shoulder. There's a man standing there, at least as tall as he is, with messy hair and a denim jacket. He returns his gaze to the shelf and grabs a thing of cake mix, keeping his attention focused on the man behind him.

Young. Surprised he make FBI. Could be one of Azazel's kids, I guess. Looks to be the right age. Maybe. Hard to tell.

Reid frowns to himself. This isn't just some random man. This person is here looking specifically for him. He moves down the aisle, and sure enough, the other man follows him. Reid probes just deep enough to get a name: Sam Winchester.

The hell was that?

He glances behind him again. This time Sam has his hand up to his forehead, rubbing it like he has a headache. Reid's eyes widen. It's been a long time since he's found someone who can tell when he's being Read. It's an odd feeling. He quickly gets the rest of the stuff he needs and reaches out for Prentiss. Are you being followed?

I don't think so.

Keep an eye out. There's someone at the grocery following me. He can tell when I Read him, but I don't think he knows what it is.

That's when Hotch makes his voice known. Don't go home. Come back to headquarters.

What about Jack and Henry?

I'll have Jessica pick them up. Just don't show him where we live.

Reid nods to himself. He pays for his groceries and leaves the store. He's grateful they have plenty of milk and eggs. There's nothing in his bags that will spoil if he leaves them in the car. A moment later he hears Prentiss again.

We are being followed. Some man in a leather jacket. We're meeting you guys at HQ.

Be careful, guys. Morgan pleads.

Outside the grocery, Sam watches as Reid drives away. He pulls out his cell and calls Dean. "You find out anything?"

"No, nothing. I think I was made, though. The girls just up and left, and I don't think it was because they weren't having a good time." Dean sighs. "Dude, this is whack. There's something not right about this."

Sam frowns. "Maybe Cas knows."

"Maybe. Look, get back to the hotel, see what Alan dug up on them. I'll meet you there."

"Got it."

/-/

At headquarters, the entire team gathers in Garcia's office. Here, the only person who might bother them is Kevin. Hotch turns his attention to Reid. "What did you get from him?"

Reid shrugs. "Not much. I have a name though – Sam Winchester. He's the one that was following me." Garcia turns in her chair and starts typing away. There's a beep.

"This kid isn't good at staying off the radar. He and his brother are suspected in at least two murders, not to mention uncountable numbers of grave desecration, breaking and entering, arson, impersonating a federal officer, and general all-around fraud." She brings up the pictures. Reid nods.

"That's Sam."

Prentiss points to the other picture. "And that's the guy following us. His brother, I guess – Dean."

Morgan crosses his arms over his chest. "So, what do we make of this? I mean, obviously these are some serious dudes, but they don't sound like our garden variety unsubs."

"They aren't." Reid says. "I think they're hunters."

Hotch frowns. "What makes you say that?"

"One of the books Bobby gave me said that the only way to kill a ghost is to salt and burn the remains of the person." Reid nods to the list. "Grave desecration."

"If they're hunters, that means they're after us." JJ says. "There's no other reason for them to be following us, right?"

Prentiss nods. "How do we take care of this, Hotch? It's not like we can just shoot them – they're not unsubs. And we can't go after them without revealing us."

Hotch nods slowly. "For now, we wait. See what they're up to. If they're following us, that means they don't realize what we are – or at least, they suspect, but have no proof. Let's not give them any." He looks to the others. "Don't give these guys any reason to come after us. Keep a low profile. Maybe they'll go away."

"And if they don't?" Rossi asks.

Hotch just looks at him. "Then we'll deal with that when it comes."

/-/

Back at the hotel, Alan gives Sam and Dean the run-down on the FBI agents. "There's not much here, but there's enough. They're damn good at what they do." he says.

Sam nods. "If they're profilers, that explains how they made us so fast."

Dean grimaces. "Yeah. And if they're profilers, that's going to make it a thousand times harder to get the drop on them."

"We don't even know if we need to get the drop on them." Sam points out. Alan snorts. Sam ignores him. "Dean, we don't want to make any mistakes with this."

Dean knows where his brother's mind is going. His is moving the same way. There's no indication that these guys are evil, freaks or not. After the case with the vampires, they've been extra careful to stake things out first. He looks at his brother.

"Then we're just going to have to find out. We lay low a few days – see what other information we can find. Then we take one of them and see what we can find out."

Alan nods. "Which one?"

Dean points at the screen. "Him. Spencer Reid."

/-/

AN: Whoo! This part will probably be a 5 shot. Then there will most likely be one more part after this that will wrap up the Shadows Within saga, bring in the kids from Children of the Darkness, and maybe open up a similar set of one-shots for the SPN universe. I'm not sure yet. Regardless, review, my lovely readers!