Quickly, John got out of his beat-up truck and rushed to the building. He went through the back and was just about to use his lock picking skills when he heard a few glasses breaking and the sound of muffled screams.
He quickly changed his mind and instinctively reached for his sidearm. A powerful kick on the door forced it open, and John had only a couple of seconds to switch on his night vision before going in.
He found Nikolai suspended by the neck—his back against the wall— by a Creature with horns and legs that belonged to a goat. The Creature immediately dropped Nikolai and charged at him. He fired two rounds and immediately jumped over the kitchen countertop; the Creature missing him by mere inches.
John had no time to check for any wounds when he heard the same Creature cursed in a language that he couldn't understand. He hastily rose to his feet to find the Creature looking at its bleeding arm.
It then turned to face him again, eyes filled with rage as it leaped over the countertop. The Creature was impossibly fast and agile, by the time he brought his gun to aim at the Creatures head again; it was already on him.
With a swift swipe of his hand, he knocked the weapon away from his hand as another bang was heard. The creature then angled his head forwards, its foot-long horns pointed at John's stomach and charged again.
John barely had time to grab the horns with his hands before he was lifted off his feet and the Creature proceeded to ram him into the wall. John had a split second before his training kicked in.
He knew there was no way he could slow the Creature's momentum let alone overpower the Creature's strength. He reached for the countertop on his right again and gave it a kick with all his might.It was just enough for what he had in mind.
His body moved to the left where he was able to plant both his feet on an electric cooker before pushing his body up. The result was him flipping over the Creature as it slammed into the wall. It was that moment that the lights flickered on. John quickly removed his night vision to see the Creature trying to get its horns free from the wooden wall.
"Nikolai, the gun!" John shouted as he jumped over the counter once again and began to look around the floor. The sound of breaking wood returned his attention to the Creature; it was free, and it couldn't have been angrier.
"Fuck me!"
"Should I switch the lights off?" Nikolai asked, his voice trembled, or was it excitement; knowing him, John guessed it was probably the latter.
"Leave them fucking on and find my Glock, now!"
He looked around the kitchen once more and saw a rack full of knives; he had no idea how he missed them after his first jump. The Creature went around the counter and once again charge him, this time he was more prepared and grabbed a knife in each hand and waited for the little bastard.
It was just about to reach him when three loud bangs were heard. John winced as he saw a bullet hole just a couple of inches where his right hand previously was next to the counter; the rest of the bullets hit the Creature. It howled in pain as it dropped to its knees.
"Slide the gun to me," he stated right before another door burst open, and a naked woman came in hissing.
She briefly glanced at what was happening while John took advantage of her distraction to grab the sliding gun and aimed its sights at her. He was however not prepared when the second Creature muttered in a foreign language and vanished, just like that.
John's decision turned out to be a bad one as the kneeling Creature grabbed one of the knives and jammed it into his thigh. John screamed and instinctively unloaded the rest of his clip into the Creatures face. There was a long period of silence before the sound of sirens roused the two intruders from their shocked states.
"Nikolai get over here and help me get the body."
John grabbed the Creature under its arms while Nikolai took the legs and carried the body out of the house. They threw the body into the truck and covered it with a tarp before driving off. The rest he left it to his boss to fix the mess.
…
"He's reckless, impulsive and has zero capacity to follow a chain of command!"
John had a long heated debate with The Secretary where he vented and threatened to leave the Agency if he wasn't given autonomy.
The Secretary reluctantly agreed but on condition; he had three months to prove he was the right choice for the job. John found that to be a reasonable offer and accepted his new terms before he slowly limped out of his office making sure the Secretary understood just how close he came to having him killed.
It had been a month since the incidence and John still subconsciously rubbed his right thigh as he counted his lucky stars the Creature never went for any vital organs.
There was a slight knock on the door, and John quickly closed his desktop before telling the other person to come in.
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything, Sir."
"Nothing I wasn't expecting. You've finished going through your file?"
"No, I was hoping to do it in my office if you don't mind. I just prefer my own company."
"Certainly," John said as he reached for his top drawer and pulled a key-card before handing it to him. "Mr. Price welcome to the Agency, I hope we can work closely together, like you, I prefer field work over sitting in the office."
"That wouldn't be a problem. Just curious, you served?"
"Sadly no. I have a different training background. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Is there any chance I could steal you and get you down on the range?"
"There are three more people I need to deal with and a personal visit to another potential recruit. It'll have to wait till tomorrow."
"Fine with me, as for your question, we'll find out tomorrow. And thank you for the opportunity, sir."
"No problem. Call me John, and that's an order."
"Yes, sir." Price grinned before leaving his office.
...
John parked his car at the Police Department as he contemplated his next move. Glancing at the passenger seat; he picked up the folder for one last time. Detective Jeremy Kyle started off as a small-time cop, but his diligence had him promoted to Detective in less than four years. In some ways, Det. Kyle reminded him of himself.
He had gone through the file three times but one more time wouldn't hurt. Det. Kyle's service record was something John would probably have if he chose that line of work.
Kyle's work as a detective started around three years ago after his promotion. Two of which he worked on twenty cases on his own, seventeen solved, and only three went cold. Then one year later he had a partner, that's where things began getting a little strange; at least in John's judgment.
The Detective's behavior changed, he became more aggressive, he had an instance where he almost beat a suspect to death were it not for his partner's intervention. He was now on probation. Something was definitely not right.
Call him paranoid, but John knew he had a knack for spotting patterns and his uncanny ability to pay attention to details is what makes him great at what he does.
To make matters worse, his partner's record wasn't that comprehensive, Det. Ross transferred in from the East Coast where she was married but lost his husband in a fatal car crash. No family or relatives, just her job as a Detective.
It was as if someone went to the trouble of creating a profile that won't have too many contradicting stories just in case there was a background check.
Unlocking his door, he threw the file into the back seat and stepped into the night breeze of the parking lot. Dipping his hands into his trench coat, he walked into the Precinct.
John knew his target left at around nine p.m. officially, and he was in luck when he saw Det. Kyle coming towards him, heading for the exit.
"Detective Kyle?"
"Yeah, can I help you…"
"Special Agent John St. Augustine. I'd like a moment of your time if you don't mind?" John offered his hand after showing him his ID.
"Can't it wait until tomorrow, I'm kind of tired… busy day?" Jeremy asked as he accepted the handshake.
"I'm afraid it can't and time is of the essence."
Kyle sighed, "we can go back to my office if you don't mind?"
"Are you alone?"
"Yeah, my partner is out of town for a few days."
John nodded to that and filed away the information, "sure lead the way."
"Take a seat." John offered before taking his own, "So, Agent—"
"Call me John."
"Sure, call me Kyle. How can I help you?"
"If you say so. I'd like to know about a suspect you arrested about two weeks ago. Raymond Storm?"
"There is an official report, I could get it for you if you're interested in the kid."
"I already went through the report, what I want is something unofficial, your thoughts."
"Not sure what you mean?"
"You saw the suspect again at the hospital."
"You've been investigating me?"
"Not you, Raymond, you just happened to be present at both two scenes. That's why I want to know anything you might have seen or heard that could help me."
"Seen, heard, help you. What are you investigating? As far as I know, he was just a poor kid in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Somehow I doubt that's what you believe. Tell me something Kyle, do you believe in the supernatural?"
"What Agency are you from again?"
"DHS."
"Well, I'm not sure how you guys at Homeland work but down here, we follow leads based on scientific data and hard evidence, not faith." Jeremy frowned.
"If you say so. Thank you for your time, Kyle." John said before offering his hand again.
"Sure, glad I could help."
Outside John started the engine and left with a smile on his face. He took a gamble, it was now time to sit back and wait as everything unfolded.
If the Detective was who John thought he was, then what he just told Kyle would keep the wheels turning in his head until he couldn't help it but start sniffing around.
There were only three things John was looking for with his plan, firstly, if the Detective was as good as he hoped then John wouldn't be doubtful about recruiting him. Secondly, was whether Kyle's partner was going to join in on the ghost chase, either way, John didn't trust her.
Thirdly, John was interested in how Raymond would respond to the probe. Up until now, John was sure there was some kind of a system that took care of things between the Supernatural and Humans.
There is no way they managed to remain undetected just by sheer luck. He just didn't know how it worked, and he wasn't about to go around poking to find out. Call him paranoid, but there is a fine line between paranoia and caution.
John's first plan was now in motion. He still had two leads to follow, Raymond's home and the lawyer that came to bail him out. It may not be anything special, but he'd rather cover all angles than leave himself open for a potential blindside in the future.