43. Brady (Part 1)

"I'm sorry, but you know this guy?" I asked Sam. I guess what Crowley said earlier makes sense. If Sam has some connection to this guy, probably not the demon inside, then that would certainly complicate things.

Brady chuckled, sending shivers down my spine. "Brady hasn't been Brady in years," he said. "Not since, oh...middle of our sophomore year?"

"What?" Sam growled. I saw his hands go into fists.

"That's right. You had a devil on your shoulder even back then. All right, let it all sink in."

I put what Brady was saying in my head. So Sam had a demon watching over him when at Stanford? How in the hell could he not have noticed that?

"Wait, wait, Sam!" I screamed as he started towards Brady.

"You son of a bitch." His voice got louder. "You son of a bitch!" Dean and I had to hold him back—well, I got in front of Sam and tried to push him back with all my weight. "You introduced me to Jess!"

"Ding, ding! I think he's got it!" Brady crowed. "But it looks like you've moved on pretty quickly!"

"Shut up!" I bellowed, helping Dean keep Sam in line. It was difficult between the two of us. I could see a blazing fire in Sam's eyes, one that didn't look to want to die anytime soon.

"Damn it, Sam!" Dean shouted.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Sam roared.

"Enough!" I joined in.

Working together, Dean and I herded Sam out of the room and into another. All the while, Brady laughed, which made my blood boil. I turned around and almost barreled back into the room, but Dean nearly pulled my arm out of its socket when he grabbed me.

"Oh, no, not you too, Dak," he grunted as he threw me back into the loop. Dean spun me around so I could help act as a barrier between Sam and Brady. I could feel the heat running through my veins. I'd be pretty pissed too. I kind of was.

"Get out of my way!" Sam demanded.

"No," Dean said.

"Get out of my way, the both of you."

"There is only one way to win, and it ain't by killing that thing in there."

"Dean's right, Sam," I said softly.

"Well," came Crowley's voice. I hissed in surprise as the demon reappeared. "Sounds like you got him nice and fluffed. Thanks so much."

"Listen to me," Dean cut in. "We need Pestilence to get at the Devil, and we need Brady to get to Pestilence."

"Why?" Sam asked hotly. "Because Crowley said so? Because we trust him now? Like I trusted Ruby? Or like I trusted Brady back at school?"

"Look...do the math yourself," said Crowley. "If Lucifer wins, he'll turn this place into his kingdom. When the Morningstar cleans house, we all get the mop. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to have a proper chat with him."

I snorted.

"Just keep the moose in line." Crowley eyed Dean and me. As Crowley went to talk to Brady, I went to Sam, who was still quivering from the rage inside. I rubbed his arms. I looked over at Dean.

"I got this," I mouthed to him. Dean nodded and disappeared into another room, leaving me with his angry younger brother.

"Look at me, Sam," I whispered. His eyes were still hostile, but the hostility wasn't meant for me. "You need to get a hold of yourself. You have to. It's not a good situation, we all know it. It's not easy, and I get it—"

"Do you, Kota? Really? Hmm? Was your best friend possessed without you knowing it?"

I scowled. "No, but my sister had been if you remember. I know it's nowhere near the same thing, but it counts. You need to relax. You need to stay focused, okay, like Dean wants you to be." I bit my lip. "I know it sounds stupid and cliché to ask, but, if you won't do it for Dean, do it for me." My hands slipped down to his. "I'm not leaving you on your own until I see a change."

I felt Sam shake as we stood there in the silence. During our silence, Brady didn't try and egg Sam on more. Smart on his part. After a while, I could feel the tremors stop. I smiled timidly as I saw the anger subside in Sam.

"There we go," I crooned. "You good now?"

"I'm better," he admitted. His hands left mine so that his arms could embrace me. "Thanks, Kota."

"It's what I'm here for," I joked, looking up. "You better go fetch your brother."

"Where is he?"

"Don't know. I sent him off somewhere." I shrugged. "I'll keep an eye on Brady."

Sam nodded. After squeezing me in the hug, he disappeared in search of Dean. I stepped back out into the room only to find Brady, no Crowley. Where'd he run off to now?

"You look a little out of place," Brady noted. I scoffed. "What made you end up here?"

"None of your business."

His head tilted. "You look familiar."

"Never went to Stanford, sorry. Nice attempt, though."

"No, I'm serious." His lips puckered. "There's something about you..."

"I've been around my fair share of demons lately, never you."

"But that was before you got into this." It wasn't a question.

My eyes widened slightly. Is this part of his game to get into my head? Why did I come back in here in the first place? It's not because he's attractive.

"Keep staring, sweetheart, I enjoy the attention." He smirked.

"So is this what you demons do? Possess people and pretend to be them?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know that!" He tried to move against his restraints. "You do." His eyes brightened. "Wait! Now I know where I've seen you before."

"You're still hooked on that?" I snorted.

"Maryland, that quiet little neighborhood." He nodded feverishly. "Oh yeah, I remember you now. The neighborhood exorcist, its own little supernatural detective."

I inhaled shakily through my nose. How could he know about that?

"It's all coming back now." The smile was back again. "You dared to get into something you never understood. You tried to put an end to us." He chuckled. "Oh, how you thought there were so few of us!"

I blinked, not saying a word. Come on, Sam. How hard can it be to find your brother?

"What, demon got your tongue?" he snickered. I swallowed. "I'm really surprised to find you here, though. I mean, after we ran you out of town..."

"Why was I spared?" I folded my arms.

"Truthfully, I don't know. We should have found someone to house inside you. I should have finished you when I had the chance."

I rolled my eyes.

But something clicked in my head. I should have finished you when I had the chance.

I felt my stomach drop into my feet. Brady couldn't be hinting that...that he'd been the one possessing Monica that night. He couldn't be implying that. Another demon had to have bragged about those kills to him. He couldn't have been behind it.

No, he definitely couldn't have been behind it. He'd been at Stanford around the time Sam had gone. But a lot of time has passed since then. He could have changed bodies for a short time.

My hands were starting to sweat.

"Oh, am I making you uncomfortable?" he mocked me. "I'm sorry."

"Bite me," I snapped.

Brady chortled. "Wow, you really have changed. I have to say, Dakota—" He noticed the change in my posture. His eyes were wide in realization, his mouth parted.

None of those demons could have known my name. Not unless they did research of their own. So why was I freaking out so much about him knowing my name?

"Those puzzle pieces starting to fit in your head yet?" he asked me. "You starting to remember me now?"

I shook my head vigorously. He's still hinting it. But he couldn't have been in the house that night.

Brady tutted. "Don't lie to me, Dakota. That's rude."

"You want to talk about rude?"

Brady rolled his eyes, unamused. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"You weren't there," I said through gritted teeth. "You've been in this body for years."

"Doesn't mean that I committed entirely." He exposed his teeth in a sinister smile. "I took a break from this body for a bit, just to get back to my old ways. Boy, was it fun. You know, I think the best part about the visit was making sure we kept you quiet and out of action. It was genius to possess your sister—"

"Shut up!" I screamed, feeling my voice crack at a high octave.

Brady's brows rose. "I mean, yeah, she was younger than you, but she had some strength in her. She didn't do any sports? Why am I asking you, anyway? I could see her head, I could see everything."

I began to shake violently. "Shut. Up."

But Brady kept on going. "I heard her pathetic pleading. 'Stop, don't kill them.' 'Leave them alone.' 'Give me my body back.' Ugh, she was a whiny one. I don't know how you could stand her."

I made a beeline for Brady, putting my hands on both of his wrists, getting right in his face. "Shut. Up."

Brady snorted, amused. "You don't scare me, Dakota. You're afraid of me, of us. Deep down. I can see it in your eyes."

I slapped him hard across the face. He laughed, a malicious twinkle in his eyes.

"But you couldn't do it, you couldn't save them. You let it go too far. It's all your fault."

Okay, it's time to stop playing nice. I went right for his throat. He didn't look frightened of me, more so entertained. I squeezed harder until my knuckles turned white.

"Let me go!" I screamed as I was suddenly ripped away from Brady. I was up off the ground, kicking and scratching. "Let me go!"

"Look at you two, the perfect match!" Brady coughed, leaning forward to catch his breath.

"Kota, you need to stop," Sam hissed in my ear.

"No, you don't understand!" My eyes held dangerous fire in them. I wished I could melt Brady right on the spot. "He—he was there, Sam! That night. My—my family...he did that."

"He's lying to you."

"He knows things. Things that none of them could have known unless..."

"Okay, okay." Sam set me down but still held me from attacking Brady. "Now it's your turn to cool off."

"Where's Dean, Sam?" I looked up fervently. "What'd you do with him?"

"I kept him shut in the bathroom upstairs."

"What?"

"Give me some time alone with him, Kota. Cool off a bit, okay?"

I stared, appalled. "N-no. I'm not letting you be alone with him."

"Aw, why not?" Brady crooned. "You and I played catchup, now Sam and I have to."

"You shut—" I began to spin around.

"Dakota."

I cringed away from the sharpness in Sam's voice. It floored me. I could see the remorse in his eyes for doing this to me.

"I'm in control," he said softly.

"Are you, really?" I snapped lowly.

He nodded. "Go."

I sighed through my nose, wanting the will to fight against him. But I couldn't find it in me. I was depleted of fight; I had wasted it all on Brady. I licked my lips "Fine," I caved. "But I'm trusting you on this."

I gave him a warning look before I went in search for Dean.

**Okay, now how many of you guessed that about Brady? Who had any suspicion?

It's okay if you didn't. Nobody's Sherlock Holmes, unless you really are Sherlock Holmes.**