Bradley smiled to himself “Why would I be mad?” he asked.
“Bradley…I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t tell him anything” she said.
“Syd, I promise I’m not mad at you” he said kissing her forehead.
“Still just hearing the name Winchester has to take you back to that whole experience” she said.
“It does…it’s always there in the back of my mind, trust me you don’t forget something like that” he said “So…who blabbed?” he asked.
“Your parents kind of gave me the gist of the whole thing” she said.
“Why am I not surprised?” he asked.
“Okay so what do I do about Barry?” Sydney asked “With all the research he’s doing, he’s going to find out sooner or later” Sydney said.
“Don’t be so sure about that” Bradley said to her.
“Oh? What does that mean?” she asked him.
“Barry’s not going to find anything on the Winchesters…or at least anything about my involvement with them” he said.
“How exactly?” Sydney asked.
“Apparently my dad had the internet wiped clean, aside from the basic information you know their names, where they lived, stuff like that” he said.
“Wow, didn’t know your dad was so powerful” Sydney said.
“He’s not, his checkbook is” Bradley said “Alright, I got to go” he said.
“You got work today?” she asked.
“Not exactly” Bradley said “I’m going to Coach Reinhart’s funeral” he said “Captain wants every available detective on the scene just incase something happens” Bradley said “Especially since Wexler insists on going” he said irritated. “I’ll call you later” he said.
“Be careful” she said as they kissed.
“Always” he said grabbing his keys and leaving.
Natalie made her way to the front door as the doorbell rang “Syd, hey” she said “What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you” Sydney said brushing past her.
“Well sure, is everything okay?” Natalie asked concerned “Are the girls okay?” she asked.
“Yes, the girls are fine” Sydney said “Everyone’s fine…I need you to tell me the story” Sydney said.
“The story?” Natalie asked, Sydney nodded “What story?” Natalie asked.
“About the Winchesters” Sydney said.
“Bradley never told you?” Natalie asked her.
“Not completely, his parents told me a few things but not the whole ugly truth” Sydney said “So please, I need you to tell me” she said.
Natalie sighed “I’m going to need a drink for this” she said to her “You’ll definitely need one too" she said going into the kitchen.
Kyle stood amongst a sea of black, a crowd gathered in the local cemetery for Coach Reinhart’s funeral.
“You okay?” Zoey asked him, he looked over and nodded sadly as she grasped his arm.
A priest stood near Coach Reinhart’s casket “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Flowers adorned the coffin, several floral arrangements stood at the grave.
“You two really didn’t need to accompany me” Mr. Wexler said as he made his way through the cemetery, Bradley and Neilson following closely behind him.
“It’s just a precaution Wexie” Bradley said to him.
“Never know who might show up” Neilson said to him.
“I doubt anyone’s going to kill me here” Mr. Wexler said as he walked ahead of them.
“We’re still not sure why it was worth risking protective custody to bring you here” Neilson said.
“Bill wasn’t just an employee, he was a very dear friend, we spent many years together, I owe it to him to pay my respects especially since his death was less than dignified” Mr. Wexler said to them.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Kyle asked.
“Wexie insisted on coming” Bradley said.
“Shh!” Mr. Wexler said harshly.
“How you doing?” Bradley asked Kyle.
“Well my long-time mentor is dead from being murdered and nobody seems to know why…not great” he said “Any new leads?” Kyle asked.
“We don’t know, not our case anymore” Neilson said to him.
“What?” Kyle asked.
“Your step-daddy took us off the case” Bradley said to him.
"Why would he do that?" Kyle asked.
"Said we were too closely involved with the victims or something, I don't know" Neilson said.
"Involved how?" Kyle asked confused.
"There's one common link between Mooney, Wexie and Coach Reinhart and apparently that's us" Bradley said to him, Kyle looked at them warily.
Natalie brought back a bottle of wine and two glasses “If Bradley or Neilson ever find out I told you, they'll kill me…but you should know" Natalie said “But I’m warning you, it is a long and insane and...bizarre story" Natalie said to her.
“I can handle it” Sydney said.
“Damien Winchester was our former classmate, I guess you could say for the guys…it was hate at first sight” Natalie said handing her a glass. “The story is that, on their first day of kindergarten, Kyle and Adam were playing out on the playground, they were climbing on a jungle gym and when Kyle got to the top, Damien came and pushed him off” Natalie said. “No reason, just because he wanted to” she said “From then on the rivalry between Damien and Kyle became worst until it just…blew up, and at one point literally” Natalie said. "Kyle was on the football team when we were in high school, Damien was too."
“Okay...” Sydney said.
“Damien was just…an awful...horrible human being" Natalie said to her. "Your typical preppy jock, rich family, huge sense of entitlement but what we didn’t know was that he was so much worse than that" Natalie said, thinking back. “It was towards the end of our junior year, you see every year our football coach gave out an MVP award, Kyle and Damien were both nominated, Kyle won, Damien did not take too kindly to this" Natalie said to her. “Later that day during lunch, Damien made a scene in the cafeteria, he was very very angry and very very drunk” Natalie said as Sydney sat listening intently.
“Drunk?” Sydney asked.
Natalie nodded “He had gone up to the roof of the school with a bottle of whiskey, I guess to drown his sorrows” she said. “Damien confronted Kyle, I stepped in to defend him well that was a huge mistake..."
"Did he do something to you?" Sydney asked.
"He completely humiliated me, accusing me of cheating on Neilson with his friends, asking me if he and Bradley did me at the same time” Natalie said.
“That’s just…” Sydney said disgusted.
“Oh, I know, trust me, so I backed up and slapped him as hard as I could” Natalie said “He grabbed me by the arm, Neilson and Kyle screamed at him to let me go, so he did” she said taking a drink. "I ran crying into the girls' room but from what I heard is that Damien threatened Kyle and he was suspended" she said "But then he came back" Natalie said "With a gun" Sydney looked at her fearfully. "I was in the girls' bathroom with some of my friends, I was supposed to meet Bradley and Neilson in the library for study hall...I was fixing my makeup and I heard a very loud popping sound" she said standing up. "I looked out into the hallway and heard footsteps, I didn't know who it was so I tried to hide myself and when the footsteps became more distant I went into the halls".
"I found Neilson and Bradley, Bradley was on the floor leaning up against the lockers...bleeding"
"He was shot" Sydney said, Natalie nodded “Neilson wasn't hurt?" Sydney asked.
"No...Bradley had pushed him out of the way."
"Bradley took the bullet for him" Sydney said.
"Exactly, Damien was angry and volatile and he had a gun, we didn't know where he was or if he was coming back so we pulled Bradley into the girls' bathroom".
"How long were you guys in there?" Sydney asked.
"I don't know, felt like forever, we couldn’t call for help, Bradley’s cellphone was almost out of power, a teacher took mine, Neilson had lost his” Natalie said. "Bradley was bleeding uncontrollably, there was no way to stop it, he was getting weaker and weaker by the minute...he made me promise to take care of Neilson for him" she said.
"If this kid hated Kyle so much why shoot Bradley?" Sydney asked.
"Oh no trust me...Damien and the boys had a very strong mutual dislike for each other” Natalie said.
“So what happened? How did you get out?” Sydney asked.
“Neilson broke through the bathroom windows, I crawled through and got the paramedics” Natalie said to her.
“Bradley wasn’t Damien’s only casualty that day, Damien had also shot one of our teachers, Coach Reinhart and Harry” Natalie said.
“Harry?” Sydney asked confusedly.
“He was developing pictures for the school paper, the teacher advisor must’ve forgotten he was in the dark room because he was still inside the school after it had been evacuated” Natalie said. “He heard Kyle and Damien arguing from one of the classrooms, he walked in to see Damien and Kyle fighting over the gun and…it went off” Natalie said. “Kyle eventually took him down and he was arrested, there was a trial, we all had to testify, the judge found him guilty and he was sent to prison” Natalie said.
"But as bad as Damien was...his father was much much worst" Natalie said to her.
"His father?" Sydney asked.
“You’re going to need a refill for this part” Natalie said filling up her glass “Damien’s father was this big time corporate raider, very rich and very successful and incredibly powerful” Natalie said.
“Powerful how?” Sydney asked.
“Powerful enough to kidnap 5 teenage boys and almost get away with murder” Natalie said.
“Yeah you’re right I will need this” Sydney said taking a large gulp of wine.
“A few months after the shooting, Damien's father decided he wanted revenge for Damien going to prison" Natalie said to her. “One night, Bradley, Neilson and I planned to meet for a movie, I stood outside for almost 2 hours but…they never showed” she said. “Their dads were away, they were in Tampa recording but Bradley’s dad came home early, when I went by later that night he had told me that, they were already gone by the time he got home” Natalie said. “The next morning I was woken up by my phone ringing, it was Bradley’s dad calling, telling me they never made it home the night before” she said. “Damien’s father drugged the boys, had them kidnapped and kept them prisoner for days."
“My god” Sydney whispered.
“He took them to some abandoned power plant high up in the hills, it had been condemned and he was planning on converting it into office space". “He would taunt us…as a scare tactic, Mr. Winchester sliced his arm open and soaked his shirt in his blood and sent it to his parents…phone calls, text messages" Natalie said.
“He was playing mind games with them, trying to turn them against each other, forcing them to admit secrets that they had kept from each other that would tear apart their friendship” Natalie said to her. “And when it finally looked like he was about to be caught…he injected the boys with a drug that had once been used in lethal injection.”
Sydney closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands, shaking her head in disbelief.
“And then…he buried them” Natalie said taking a drink.
“What? Buried them? You mean…” Sydney asked in confusion and horror.
“He buried them, he put them all in makeshift coffins and buried them…alive” Natalie said. “All except for Kyle, somehow Kyle was able to get the gun away from him and shot him” Natalie said “Their dads had to dig them out of a shallow grave” she said. “They were in the hospital for about a week before the finally came home” Natalie said “Mr. Winchester was sent to prison and that was the end of it…or so we thought” she said. “About a month into our senior year, Damien and his dad were killed in prison…supposedly” Natalie said. "I was on the dance committee and I was in charge of the annual Halloween dance that year, Damien and his father decided to crash the party" she said taking a drink.
“Drugging them seemed to be his method of choice, only this time, he decided he wanted me along for the ride” Natalie said.
"You?" Sydney asked.
"I had Neilson have the art club set up this haunted maze in the school courtyard, I thought Bradley and Neilson were playing some stupid prank on me so I went to look for them, Damien's father came up behind me and put a rag over my face, come to find out later if was covered in chloroform". “He took us all back to the warehouse where Mr. Winchester had taken them before, he left Harry and Adam tied up and stranded in the tunnels underneath, Damien took Kyle and Bradley, Neilson and I were stuck with crazy papa Winchester” she said. "He had me and Bradley unchained from the wall and…told Neilson to choose.”
“Choose?" Sydney asked.
"Mr. Winchester wanted Neilson to choose between me and Bradley, whoever he didn't pick would be killed."
"God" Sydney said.
"Neilson tried to offer himself but Bradley wouldn't let him, Mr. Winchester put a knife to his throat".
“I bit him on the leg and he ended up grazing Bradley with the knife…but then he put his hands around his neck and began to strangle him” Natalie said. “Neilson saw the knife on the floor and took the opportunity to save Bradley so he did, he plunged the knife into Mr. Winchester’s back and Bradley fell to the floor.” “While we were leaving Bradley put his foot on the knife’s handle and…pushed it in” Natalie said as Sydney grimaced “We managed to get out of the room and find an exit but before we could escape…the building exploded” Natalie said.
“I don’t really remember what happened after that, I just remember when I came to, I was in Bradley’s arms, he had found me and carried me to safety” she said.
“So…they died in the explosion?” Sydney asked hopefully.
“We thought they did” Natalie said “Once again we were wrong” Natalie sighed.
“You’re kidding” Sydney said in disbelief.
Natalie shook her head as she took a drink “When the paramedics found them in the wreckage, Damien’s older brother Darren had them transferred to a clinic out of state, they eventually regained consciousness on New Years’ Day” she said.
“They came back” Sydney said.
Natalie nodded “Prom night, 2010” she said.
“Bradley told me a little bit about his prom, he said that Neilson nominated him for king as a joke, he was the DJ, you won queen, Kyle was crowned king…” Sydney said.
“Yeah well, after all that happened… the lights and the music went out and the next thing we know there's Damien up on stage in the spot light" she said. “We ran to the fire exit and there was Mr. Winchester” Natalie said “He forced us up to the penthouse suite where he and Damien were hiding out and began taunting us about…” she said before looking at Sydney.
“About what?” Sydney asked.
“Well this is a whole separate story but…for a while during our senior year, Neilson and I broke up…”
“Oh yeah, when you and Bradley slept together” Sydney said nonchalantly.
“You know?” Natalie asked.
“Oh yeah, no don’t worry Bradley told me everything” Sydney said.
“Oh…and you’re okay with this?” Natalie asked.
“Nat that happened way before I came along, I'm not going to hold what you guys did before I even knew you guys against you, how can I, I wasn't even there" she said. “You all have obviously gotten over it, you and Neilson have been married for 20 years, you have a family, Bradley and Neilson are closer than ever...what’s to be upset about?" she said.
“Oh…well okay then” Natalie said “Uh yeah anyways, what we didn’t know was that Mr. Winchester was keeping tabs on us while he was in hiding, the night Bradley and I…he had somebody watching us” Natalie said in disgust “And they taped the whole thing” she said.
“Oh my god” Sydney said disgusted “He taped you and Bradley…”.
“Oh yeah, he pulled out a DVD and Neilson took it from him and threw it into the fire, then he tells us that, that was just a copy, the original file was on a flash drive somewhere” Natalie said. “The whole reason he brought us up to the suite was so that he could collect on his debt from Halloween…he handed Neilson an ice pick and told him to kill Bradley as payback for sleeping with me” Natalie said.
“He wanted Neilson to kill Bradley?” Sydney asked in disbelief.
Natalie nodded “He told Bradley to say his final words and Bradley told Neilson that if killing him would make things right between them then he should do it” Natalie said "That’s when he did it” Natalie said.
“He didn’t actually stab Bradley…” Sydney said in horror.
“No” Natalie said laughing “He stabbed Mr. Winchester, Bradley moved his arm” she said. “Mr. Winchester collapsed and Bradley took the ice pick and just started stabbing him, Neilson had to pull him away” Natalie said “Mr. Winchester ended up leaving Neilson the flash drive in his will” she said. “So…there it is…the whole sordid story…now you know” she said.
“Yeah I uh…my god, what you guys had to go through, having to experience all of this…” Sydney said sympathetically.
“It’s definitely not something you look back at fondly” Natalie said “So what’re you going to do?” Natalie asked.
“I honestly don’t know” Sydney said when her phone beeped “Oh speak of the devil, it’s Barry” she said “Guess I better go.”
“Hey, Syd?” Natalie asked “before you do anything…talk to you husband about what I just told you, see it through his perspective…maybe that will help” Natalie said to her, Sydney nodded and opened the door. Once on the front porch she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small voice recorder and pressed a button before walking away.
“What other links are there between coach, Mooney and Wexler?” Kyle asked.
“You mean besides us?” Bradley asked as they lined up to approach Coach Reinhart’s casket.
“You really think this has to do with us?” Kyle asked.
“Well…honestly, I think it might be…” Bradley said.
“Bradley” Neilson said cutting him off.
“What?” Kyle asked looking between them.
“Bradley thinks the Winchesters are involved” Neilson said.
“…How?” Kyle asked confused.
“I don’t know…way too many coincidences happening lately” Bradley said, beyond the rows of headstones stood Chad watching intently from behind a large tree, he then slipped away unseen.
