A/N: This is the next installment in the No Such Thing As Miracles AU. If you havent read that one or Big Brother is Always Watching, you may want to. Special thanks to TSweeny! For the idea. I know its not exactly what you had in mind but... its what started spilling out on the screen:)
SPNSPNSPN
The hotel room door busted open with a loud bang. Sam lifted his head, reaching for the gun under his pillow.
"Don't do it." The voice said and Sam looked over to see the room fill with men in SWAT gear. "Both of you, get out of bed slowly, hands on your heads. Move. Now"
Sam assessed the situation. From his position lying on his stomach on the bed, there was no way he could take 4 armed men before one of them could shoot. So he slid slowly to the floor, on his knees, hands placed on the back of his head.
Dean groaned, but came to the same conclusion as Sam. They were at a distinct disadvantage, and this majorly sucked. He'd gotten to sleep maybe an hour before. But he slid off the bed and got on his knees, raising up his hands, and looked at Sam.
"Sure, let's go look for that sword thing. Sounds like a vacation." He said to his brother. "Did you forget the part about the SWAT team wanting to play tag?"
"Oh yeah cause staying in one place works so well for us. " He said as his arms were pulled behind him and zip tied in place. He was handed off to another agent and escorted to a car. An agent sat on either side of him in the back seat and the driver started the car, waiting.
"You know you could have at least let us get dressed first." Sam said as he sat there in his boxers and nothing else. He was rewarded with nothing more than a glare.
They went through the same process with Dean, "Pack up their gear, bring the car as well. " The lead agent said as Dean was ushered out the door, and into a separate car.
"Don't touch my car!" Dean said and struggled against the zip ties. Dammit, his poor defenseless car. At least Sam had a better chance of defending himself...
He was shoved into another car and flanked by agents much the same way, and he watched in horror as his car was loaded onto a flat bed.
"If there's so much as a scratch...I'll kill you." He said. Seriously. The agent driving chuckled, which infuriated Dean more.
"Mr Winchester, your car is safe. Now sit back and enjoy the ride."
It was a long drive, neither Winchester getting any answers to thier questions. It was all Sam could do not to panic. He was all but hyperventilating as they got to the installation. This wasn't the police, this wasn't FBI. What if they had missed something? What if it was only one cell of the scientists? What if ... Sam closed his eyes and started taking long deep breaths to hold the panic at bay.
They were herded into an innocuous looking office building, though inside was brightly lit with people in suits milling about. Dean tried to drag his heels, just to give them a hard time, but was put in a room anyway. Looking all the world like a police interrogation room, he'd know, he'd been in them enough.
"So what's the charge, officer? Sleeping shirtless?" The metal chair was cold against his back and the back of his thighs as he sat in his boxers, hair standing up on end as it usually did first thing in the morning.
The agent sat across the table from him and studied him for a moment. "Hard to imagine where you are supposed to be so impressive, Winchester. " He said. "This list of charges against you include, but are not limited to, murder, fraud, impersonating a police office, federal agent, Homeland security, grave desecration... should I go on?"
"Where's my brother?" Dean asked instead, all joking off his face. If they thought they were going to get away with hurting Sammy, they had another thing coming. He had to be nearly hysterical, thinking a lab had him or something at this rate. He had to get out of here, so he could get his brother out of here.
"Your brother will be joining us later. He... needed a little down time." The man said. "It seems he hadn't recovered as fully from his ordeal in Virginia as we had hoped."
Dean's eyes flared out a glare at the man, and quicker than anyone expected, he was on his feet. Across the table and behind the man. His bound wrists around his neck and applying some pressure as the man tried to get Dean's arms away from his throat.
"One move and I WILL snap his neck." He said to the others, who stood cautiously by. "Now someone tell me who the fuck you are and what the fuck you want!" That implication that they were connected to that lab, and that they had done something to Sam to make him get his 'down time,' along with exhaustion, worry, and all around frayed at the edges, was more than Dean could be expected to take.
"We're homeland security." The man said, still perfectly calm."Your brother became hysterical. He had to be sedated. You want to see him? Or have half a chance go getting out of here in one peice, you will let my man go and sit your fucking ass down."
"You sedated my brother?" Dean snapped. Oh that was great. Now Sam would wake up even more hysterical. "What do you people want with us? You busted into our hotel room, zip tied us, dragged us here in the middle of the night, and then you touched my brother. I better start getting some answers quick or I'll have to show you just how impressive I can be." Because if a demon couldn't get in the way of him getting to his brother, these men didn't stand a chance. Of course, they were human (though he wasn't discounting that they were evil yet) so he didn't exactly want to be 'impressive.'
"You have two options, Winchester. Let go of the man and take a seat, so that we can explain to you exactly what you are going to do for us, or you can go to prison for what is left of your life, and your brother will wind up in an institution for the criminally insane."
"There's nothing wrong with my brother that you didn't do to him." Dean snarled but released the man roughly. Then he kicked one of the metal folding chairs so it slid across the room into the corner and sat himself down. He could fight his way out of a corner, where he had the advantage of lack of space for his opponent. "Fine. Start talking." He said, glaring at the men, looking one hundred percent like a wanted man one should fear. And have tasers for.
The door opened, and Thomas Quillon entered the interrogation room. "Good to see you again, Dean." He said, although he doubted Dean Winchester would remember him. "You were what... 10 last time I saw you. I heard about your father." He said as he walked over to the table and took a seat. "I'm truly sorry." He looked up at the others and nodded to the door, and they filed out of the room.
Dean's lip barely refrained from curling into a sneer. He remembered the last time a fed, or someone like that, mentioned his father. "You don't know anything about my father. What do you want?" He didn't remember the man. He looked vaguely familiar, but the man had one of 'those' faces anyway. "You know what? Forget that. I'm not talking until I know for fact that Sam is all right. And I'll need more than promises from you. I'd like some pants too. Coffee would be great, as long as you don't spike it. Where's Sam?"
"Actually I do know John. " He said and walked to the intercom. "My father threatened to kill him twice. Which is amazing as my father had the patience of a saint." He pressed the button. "Can you get us some coffee in here, and send Johnson in with a set of clothes for our guest?" He then returned to his seat at the table.
Dean twitched. He had no idea what was going on. And he was a master at reading situations. "And Sam?" He said. He wasn't budging on that. Not until he knew, until he saw it with his own eyes, that Sam was okay. And if he could keep Sam steady at the same time, it was a win-win scenario.
"Sam is sleeping it off at the moment." Quillon said casually. "He was having a severe panic attack in the car. They gave him a shot of Ativan. He'll come around soon and you can see him then. You really don't remember... well I guess it has been a long time. I'm Thomas Quillon. You can call me Tom."
"All right, Tom, I want to see my brother, and I want to make sure for myself that he's fine. That includes everything up to and including taking his pulse myself." Dean said. "See, I don't trust the government when it comes to my brother, you all are freaks in nice suits."
"I would love nothing more than to indulge your feelings." Thomas said. "But I don't have that luxury and you have no room to make demands. " He leaned back in the chair, hands folded in front of him. He glanced at the door out of the corner of his eye when it opened and they brought in a prison jumper and two cups of coffee.
The man glanced at Quillon for future orders, receiving none, he turned and left the room.
Dean took the coffee, but not the jumpsuit. "Am I under arrest?" He asked. "Planning on locking me up, sending me to the big house? What the hell do you want?" He was tired, his nerves were frayed and he was not in the mood to play games. But he drank his coffee with his wrists still ziptied and glared at the man.
"I dont have to arrest you, Dean. Not now. That stunt you pulled when you rescued Sam from the Eugenics lab, you know the one, where you blew the building up with government employees still inside. That's being called a terrorist attack. That puts you in my jurisdiction. Especially if people knew how you were brought up. Sam is listed as a mental patient there, so, he really doesn't need to be arrested either. Just returned to custody. But I think you would rather crawl across hell itself than allow that to happen again." He leaned forward and took his own coffee. "So, you have a problem I can help you with, and I have a problem you can help me with. Something right up your alley. "
"Terrorist attack? Because you people were rounding up psychics against their will so you could use them as weapons?" Dean shot back. "Whatever. Fine, what's the problem?" He needed some time to figure out how to get out of this one, and get Sam out of it too.
"We have a demon infestation in the higher offices of our government." Quillon said. "Traces of sulfur found in and around one of the senator's hotel rooms, various signs along the way. I know what you do, Dean. Your father did a job for mine once when you were boys. Your job is to save the world one unfortunate at a time. Mine is to keep this country safe. For now our jobs coincide."
"So you want me to do your job for you?" Dean asked with a smirk. "Talk about the buck doesn't stop here. Now why would I do something like that? I mean, I'm an accused murderer who likes to play with dead bodies. My brother is a complete nutcase. Dude, you gotta be desperate."
"You're a demon hunter, I'm not. No one on my payroll is. Now the question is, how badly do you want to keep your brother out of a facility that this demon would have complete access to, being a senator and all?" Quillon was figuring Dean out as they went. He would throw a lot of bravado and sarcasm, but his little brother was the be all and end all of his world. That was where Dean Winchester was vulnerable, so that was where he would hit the hardest. "I know he isn't insane, but in the interests of national security, I'm willing to let the record stand."
"You're a bastard." Dean said. "Obviously I have to talk to Sam about this. I can't accept a government contract by myself. Freelancers, sure, but we're a team. End of story."
"Put the jump suit on." Quillon said. "And we'll take a walk down to the infirmary." He motioned Dean to come forward to clip the zip tie that held his hands. "Don't try anything stupid. We both know it will end very badly if you do."
"I think we have different definitions of stupid." Dean said as his wrists were freed. He grimaced at the jump suit, but he couldn't walk around in his boxers. So he reluctantly pulled it on, but zipped it up only to his waist and tied the sleeves around his waist. He didn't want to be mistaken for a prisoner. Not yet. If ever. "Ready." This had to be the stupidest thing he'd ever considered, and he had considered (or done) a lot of stupid things in the past.
Quillon got up and rapped on the door, which opened for them. "He won't be completely conscious at this point. " He said as he led the way down to an elevator. "Senator McKendrick is from Kansas, ironically." He said. "So you may be spending a good deal of time tracking things down there since Senate isn't in session at the moment."
"Well, there's no place like home, right?" Dean said as he followed Quillon to his brother. "Seriously, you guys can kidnap a facility full of psychics but can't take down a demon? It's really not that hard."
"That facility was a federal mental hospital,and Homeland security doesn't abduct anyone. You two are currently under arrest for possible involvement in a terrorist act." He said. "Well, you are. Your brother is simply an escaped mental patient.I could easily charge you with kidnapping him." He said seeming amused at that thought. He rapped at a door and it was opened. "Here he is."
Sam lay on a gurney, ready to be put onto an ambulance if needed. He was restrained, and an IV was attached to his hand.
"You son of a bitch." Dean said to Quillon as he moved past him. The first thing he did was take the IV out, letting the fluid drip all over the floor as he tore part of the sleeve of his jumpsuit off and wrapped it around the old IV site. "Sam. Sam. Come on, rise and shine. They're not letting me sleep, you don't get to. Come on, I need to talk to you. Or I'm shaving your head." Dean said, slapping his brother's face lightly.
Sam moaned when the IV was removed. "Dean." He managed to get out eyes fluttering open then closing once more. It was hard to wake up, hard to focus through the drugs. They had given him enough to sedate him, not merely take the edge off of the anxiety he felt. "I'm..." He swallowed, drifting out of consciousness for a moment. "Sorry." He was certain that it was starting again. Just a few short weeks after his rescue it had happened again.
"Sam I need you to concentrate." Dean said, remembering what had happened in the farm house to the man who had stabbed Dean. "Keep under control, it's not quite like you think. But I'm gonna need you a little more coherent to talk about it, got it? Hang in there, Sammy."
"Happening again." He mumbled, eyes closing once more, his breathing becoming steady and even once more.
"He's not going to wake up easily." Quillon stated. "But he's alright. There was nothing but saline in that IV. Didn't want him getting dehydrated."
"Shut up." Dean snapped. "Do you people see what you've done to him? And you're all right with that?" He shook his head and pinched his brother. "Sam! It's not happening again. I'll get us out of this. Got you out of the secret government whack job lab, right?" He looked at Quillon. "Reverse the sedative. Now. And I know it can be given with a shot in the thigh. I can't do shit with my brother doped up to the gills." He'd spent enough time in the hospital recovering from New Orleans that he had some pharmeceutical knowledge now.
Quillon told one of the guards to go and fetch the doctor.
"Ow." Sam tried to pull away from where he was being pinched. "Dean...run... you have to ... have to run." His words slurred into a mumble as he faded into unconsciousness once more.
The door opened and a man entered the room. "This will reverse the effects of the Ativan." He told Quillon. "But it should keep the anxiety down." He injected the romazicon. "Give him about 15-20 minutes and he'll be fine."
Dean looked at his watch to mark the time. "Thank you." He said and took the needle from the doctor, who immediately backed up against the wall. Dean used the needle to carefully undo some of the locks and saw away at the zip ties, until his brother was unrestrained. He looked at Quillon, barely restrained fury in his green hazel eyes, looking all the world like a fairer version of John when he had a mad on. "Well, congratulations. You've managed to back me into a corner I can't get out of. Give me the file on the guy to look over while Sam detoxes." He quirked a brow at Quillon. "You do have a file, right?" Even the most unexperienced of hunters put together some sort of research material.
"I do." He said and set his briefcase down on a near by table and unlocked it. He handed Dean a file that was an inch thick. "Everything we have on him. I'm sure you'll notice when things started to change, of course the occasional shot of unnatural green eyes when he comes with a perfectly natural pair of brown ones all his own doesn't hurt the assessment."
"And what have you guys done about this?" Dean asked. "Am I dealing with a pissed off political demon or what?" He could not believe he was doing this. But it would keep Sam out of the looney bin long enough for him to figure something out. Anything. Working for the government...if his father had a grave, he'd be rolling around in it for certain. He moved Sam's legs over and sat down on the end of the bed, crossing his own legs Indian style as he browsed the file. "Am I trusted with a pen? Or is everyone too frightened I'll jam it into their necks?"
Quillon tossed him a pen. "We haven't done anything yet. To the best of our knowledge he doesn't know he's been made. Hell, my office doesn't know he's a demon. They just know that he is acting in ways contrary to the best interests of our country."
"Yeah, we shouldn't disillusion them. Because that leads to mass hysteria and the like." Dean said as he underlined and crossed off different parts of the file as he waited for Sam to come to. "Believe me, I got experience with demons. Nothing like having one in your head to really get to know how they think."
"I can imagine." Quillon said. "That part I was unaware of, but your years of experience and ability to get into enough trouble to be bargained with made you perfect for the job."
Sam moaned softly, and tentatively brought a hand up to his face. He was starting to come out of it."Dean?"
Dean ignored Quillon as soon as Sam started coming around. "Hey sleepy head." He said with a smirk. "And here I thought I'd get to watch you drool in your sleep for a few more hours. Don't panic, it's not quite what you think."
He pushed himself upright "What ever it is... it cant be good." He looked at the doctor and his heart rate went up dramatically even though he remained outwardly calm. "So... what ahm... what do they want with us?" He knew it wasnt a typical arrest.
"They want us to take out a demon that the good people of Kansas elected to the US Senate." He said, passing the file over. "In return, you get to stay out of the looney bin. Not a bad trade I guess."
"Why would they put me in a psych ward?" Sam asked as he took the papers.
"You escaped from a facility in Virginia a few weeks ago. " Quillon supplied. "Of course your brother is also implicated in the bombing of said facility, and the deaths of more than 30 people."
Sam paled.
"Thought we got everyone out." Dean mumbled. He did feel horrible about that. On the other hand, he wouldn't put it past the government, or this guy, to either lie about the dead people, or have stuck them there just for this reason. "But yeah, I broke you out. You remember that part, you came to in the truck and asked me to knock you back out."
Sam took a couple deep breaths. "That was no mental hospital and you know it." He told Quillon. "If those people died in there, it's not my brother's fault."
"It's not a matter of fault. And if you take care of this little problem, you'll never have to deal with that bit of information again."
"Yeah right." Dean muttered under his breath. "Let's just do this. Where the hell is my car? There better not be a scratch on her or I swear you haven't seen terrorism." Sam was all right. Now he could worry about his car.
"How about we start with our clothes?" Sam said. "Then his car and the exit." He was still blinking to stay awake but it was more exhaustion than anything else. "Don't suppose you guys would spring for a hotel room since you cost us our last one?"
"And here I thought you wanted to wake up." Quillon stated with a smirk. "Fine. You can have a hotel room for the night. Then you are to head to Kansas and see what you can do there, before he heads back to Washington. "
"Yes sir." Dean said, mockingly, as he helped his brother up. "There are clothes in the car. We'll get changed there. Get a hotel room, and hopefully wake up and this will all be a bad dream."
"Senate resumes in a little less than a month. If its' not resolve by that time, I start issuing warrants." Quillon said. He tossed the keys to Dean . "The car is on parking level three. I'll reserve a room for you at the Days Inn down the street."
"Aren't you a pal?" Dean said. "Come on, Sam." He said and headed outof the room with his brother, a guard showing them the way to parking level three, where he was relieved to see his baby in one piece, undamaged. They threw on clothes in the parking lot and drove to the Days Inn, where they checked into the room provided. Then snuck out and checked into another hotel. "Okay Sam. Strip." Dean said.
"What?" Sam asked. "Dude, those are so words I do not need to hear out of my brother's mouth."
"Sam, just do it." Dean said as he found his pocket knife. "Doesn't strike you as strange that they just let us waltz out of there? We weren't followed. You really think they're going to trust us to head to Kansas and handle the problem they let get out of control? Or do you think it's possible they're tracking us somehow? And if they were going to track us somehow...they'd track the one that was knocked out, right? That would be you."
Sam stripped, not liking the idea of Dean cutting something out of him, but he liked the idea of something stuck inside him even less. "I don't hurt anywhere but my head. That's probably just the side effect of the drugs."
Dean sighed and checked his brother out. Then sat him down and checked out his head and found a small lump. Covered by his hair with a small incision in it, right at the back of his head. "Found it." He said quietly. "Dammit. It's right at the base of your big fat head."
"Ow!" Sam said through clenched teeth. "Yeah well my big fat head hurts, so ease up, will ya?" He reached around to feel the lump and around it. "Son of a bitch... they could have paralyzed me with that thing."
"Yeah, I know." Dean said and went to sit on his bed. "Which means I can't dig it out." He said and rubbed his hands over his face. This was so not good.
"Okay." Sam said a little breathlessly. "I'll ahm... steal a car and go to Kansas...you go anywhere but Kansas." He cringed a little at the look he got from his brother. "We'll find someone whose TK is more advanced than mine and get it removed... in the mean time we ... go to Kansas and deal with a senator packing a hitchhiker. "
"That's more of a plan. I'll call Andy and see if there's anyone back at the compound who's got some TK we can use." Dean said. "In the meantime, looks like we're doing it their way, so we might as well get some sleep, right?"
Sam nodded. "Get this thing out of my head and Canada is starting to look like a good idea." He said with a faint laugh. He didn't get undressed this time, merely kicked his shoes off and slid between the covers.
"Just get some sleep, Sam." Dean said with a sigh. So much to figure out. The government had them by the balls right now, so they had to solve the little senatorial mess. Not to mention their own little quest. And hope they weren't double crossed (which they probably would be). Dean's head was spinning and swimming as his mind worked over different things as he laid back on the bed. He gave up on sleep when he saw the sun start to peek through the sky and went to get coffee across the street. Carrying the breakfast trays and the coffee, he stopped by the oh so obvious government issue unmarked car and rapped on the window. "Rise and shine boys. We'll be headed to Kansas after we eat and shower and stuff, so get your coffee now."
The driver snorted awake and yawned. "Good enough." He nodded to the man in the passengers seat that got out of the car and headed toward the cafe.
Sam was up when Dean entered the room with breakfast, having taken the time to shower and dress. He picked up the file they had been given and sat down to look it over. "Hey." He said.
"Hey." Dean said. "Got breakfast." He said, setting it down on the table. "So anything interesting in there? I highlighted a few things, but then you woke up." He said with a shrug as he headed into the bathroom, not wanting to wake his brother up before he had to. "And you left me some hot water, right?"
"Other than this guy is running for vice president in the primaries, which, gotta say, scares the hell out of me." Sam said. "Other than that, he was born in Lawrence... " Sam frowned. "I'm starting to wonder if this is an actual possession or if it's another generation of ... well.. psychics."
"Nice thought." Dean said as he came out of the shower and started eating. "Could be. But there's the sulfur. And you said yourself the yellow eyed demon was in the lab, but he was weakened like a new born kitten. Unless it's a whole other demon we're dealing with, though you kinda gotta be related to Satan to go into politics, right?"
"Nice." Sam said with a laugh. He had been involved in politics at college, student council, that sort of thing. Had been considering a minors in Poli-sci since he was going into tax law he didn't see much point in a minors in Criminal Sciences. Sam never did anything by halves. "Well, Azazel had one rival, wouldn't surprise me if he had another, or if... Tamiel clawed his way out of hell as well. But there are psychics out there that were completely on board with his plans. There could be others...older than me, cause we know there are younger."
"Great." Dean said. "The day keeps getting better and better. We'll see what we find. I cannot believe we're going back to Kansas, what is it with that place?" He shook his head.
"Might have something to do with the gateway to hell in that cemetary." He said with a laugh. Not believing any such thing existed. "I'm sorry I keep getting you into these situations."
"Or I got you into this one, being on the wanted list and everything." Dean said. "Come on, they're waiting for us to hit the road." He said with a chuckle. "I'm going to call Andy and Bobby, see what they can do for that GPS on your brain stem."
"We need to get new phones." Sam said. "I don't want to give them a clue on how to get to the others. You know they had our stuff long enough to bug it."
"I already combed over the car. They found some inventive places to put the bugs, I'll give you that." Dean said. "So you work over the phones, see if you can find the bugs. We can't get new phones right now, not with our federal shadow and all."
"True." Sam said and picked up his phone and looked it over for signs of having been taken apart. He indicated to Dean that it had, deciding to leave that one as it was. Then took out a small set of screw drivers and went to work taking Dean's phone apart to remove the bug within. He walked over to the hotel room phone and planted the bug there. It should give the feds something to think about.
Dean chuckled. "They should pick up some interesting conversations." He said as he tossed Sam's bag to him. "Come on, we've got some road to cover. Hope those federales know how to navigate backroads."
"Or not." He said with a laugh. "It's not like they won't catch up with us again in Kansas. This whole thing feels off you know." He said as he started out the door.
"Yeah, well, we don't have a choice. A demon gets into the White House, bad idea. And if he is a psychic on the demon's side...the demon won't need an army. He'll have a nuclear arsenal at his disposal." Dean said. "Not to mention the very nice leverage they have against us. Dude, I'm a terrorist. That's gotta bump me up the list a bit."
"Gotta get you off that list." He said as he put his bags in the trunk, taking his computer up front with him. He was going to have to scrub the thing. But first he had to take it apart and look for bugs. Then he would have to wipe the hard drive and start fresh. Fortunately everything he needed he could get Ash to send him over the internet.
"Dude, you're just jealous. You're still not on it, even after New Orleans." Dean said. "What can I say? I cast a huge ass shadow and you're just gonna have to live with that. It's okay. I accept you anyway."
"I'm perfectly happy to be able to use my own name if I wanted to." Sam said with a grin. "Besides. It's all my fault you are on the list so.. you can say thank you now." Not that Sam felt he should be thanked. He felt pretty rotten about it but if Dean could pretend to be excited about it, so could he.
"Keep up this self blame thing, and I'll make you ride with the men in black." Dean said with a chuckle as he got into the car. "When I went to wake them up, they were listening to the Bee Gees, so you'll fit right in."
"Ew." Sam said. "I'm just saying you didn't want to go to St. Louis, I had to talk you into it, and you wouldn't be a terrorist if you hadn't come to save me. It's not self recrimination, it's facts. Straight up facts."
"It's also old and worn out and I said I didn't want to hear it anymore." Dean said. "You want to play that game? My fault you were possessed, because he was coming after me. That one pretty much tops all the rest of them."
"It's my fault Mom's dead." He said figuring that one trumped everything. "But now that we have the lines of blame laid out for us. Although gotta say, possession is over and done with... the rest not so much." He grinned a little at that. He took out the lap top and began to remove the plates on the bottom to look for bugs. "Although if you hit a pot hole while I am working on this thing, I might have to kill you."
"Dude, it's my fault Dad's dead. Both time." Dean said. "So don't go off on that Mom thing. That's so not right." He said as he adjusted his driving to accomodate potholes and the like.
"No Dean. Dad made his choices both times. It's not the same." He assured himself that there were no tracking devices or bugs in the lap top, then turned it on to start running Ash's special anti spy ware / antivirus programs.
"It's exactly the same." Dean said. "But whatever, I'm not arguing with you about this again. And again. So any idea how to get into the senator's office? Preferably legitimately, I don't trust our new friends not to arrest me for breaking and entering."
"I don't trust them to know a demon from a hole in the ground." Sam said. "I want to make sure it's something that needs dealing with before we go and either kill or exorcise a US senator." He sighed. "I might be able to sort out a way inside... at least for me." He said. "Senator McKendrick is a Bonesman... amongst other things... Bilderberg... he's on the who's who list of at least three international so called secret societies."
"Secret societies that publish who's who lists. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with that?" Dean said with a shake of his head. "We're not publishing a who's who for ours. Got it? No freaky awards ceremony, nothing. It's called a secret society for a reason. Dude, you were probably a member of one back at Stanford. How WASPy can you get?" He said with a laugh.
Sam simply smiled. "Stanford doesnt have a secret society." He lied, and just the way he said it, told his brother that his assessment of the situation had been correct. "Most of them aren't about secrecy so much as ... privacy. The ultimate old boys' network." He said as he took out his cell phone and placed a call. "Hey, man it's Sam, what's up... yeah... I had to take some time off after Jessica died. Couldn't think straight enough to do my best.. yeah well that's what I wanted to talk to you about. " Sam brought up his email program. "I was wondering if you think your brother over at Yale could give me a little assistance... networking. I'm headed back to Kansas, yeah, I'm from Kansas." He rolled his eyes. "No, Senator McKendrick is from my home town and there during the off season. Was wondering if your brother could put in a word for me, hoping to get an interview to be on his staff... tax law is boring." Sam said with a laugh. "Thanks, man, I appreciate it. I'll send out my resume to your email address. Talk to you later."
"Tax law? You were going into tax law?" Dean said, shocked at that. "All those years with Dad, not to mention you got your scholarship on a fake W-2...and you go into tax law. I'm...I'm shocked. And here I thought I raised you right. Okay, so we'll get you an in there, and I'll...I'll hang out at bars or something."
"There is good money and no publicity in tax law." Sam said. "And you and Dad couldn't call me to get you out of trouble that way." He said with a laugh. "Anyway, that was Jake, one of those people in that group that doesn't exist. His brother is attending Yale and is in Skull and Bones. We'll see if the resume being passed along though the chain will work. If not we'll have to come up with something different and you don't get to hang out in bars. We'll figure out something. I'm gonna need your back up if it's actually a demon, you know."
Dean sighed. "Fine. I'll keep the bar crawling to a minimum while you're doing your do gooder political networking. Maybe I'll hang out with Missouri. Because if we don't say hi, she'll never forgive us." Dean said with a laugh, since they were going to be in Lawrence and all. "Well, me anyway. That woman is looking for an excuse, any excuse, to hit me."
"She isn't looking for an excuse, you give them to her. She can read your mind after all. " Sam said with a laugh.
"And that's cheating." Dean said as he drove toward Kansas. "Of all the reasons to go back to Kansas, this isn't one of them I had thought would ever happen." Lawrence especially. "No, seriously, I'll hit the bars and see what the hometown feeling is on this guy. Get a bunch of people drunk, their real feelings come out."
"People talk politics in the types of bars you go to?" He asked with a laugh. "Thought you always said that was the sort of thing you talked about in yuppie bars."
"Yeah, real political discussion. I'm talking complaining about the powers that be. That's the type of bars I go to." Dean said with a laugh. There was a difference, after all.
Sam laughed and shook his head. "Sometimes I think I'm adopted." He teased.
"Dude, just because two beers and you're singing bad kareoke, don't blame me." Dean said with a laugh.
Sam laughed. "Yeah right... I mean seriously... could I have been any more different than you and Dad?" He asked, still unable to see how much he truly was like his father. Probably because he had never known the man who smiled easily, and loved openly.
"Dude, you are exactly like Dad." Dean said with a laugh. "Come on, you're both stubborn, both have to be right. And you both become disappointed in me so very easily. You've got his hair, you've got his eyes, you've got his freaking dimples for god's sake. Don't tell me you're nothing like him."
"The only time we ever agreed on anything was when you were in danger." Sam said shaking his head. "And even then only right before the infamous vacation."
"Dude, you're Dad. Okay?" Dean said with a chuckle. "Agreeing with someone doesn't make you exactly like them you know. Just accept it."
"You know there is a little dust devil action going on in his grave when you said that." Sam shook his head. "You two just always seemed to click."
"Yeah, so?" Dean said. That couldn't be denied. He and John always had gotten along better than Sam and John. "Doesn't mean you're not like him. Just means you two were TOO alike. Constant butting of heads and fighting because you both had to be right, all the time."
Sam smiled. "Yeah I suppose so." He said with a faint laugh. "Oh man... I don't know how you survived us growing up."
"Barely." Dean said. "Why do you think I started hanging out in bars and pool halls?" He said with a smirk. "Tell you one thing, you two did wonders for my sex life without even knowing it."
"You are such a perv." Sam said shaking his head as he closed down his computer and leaned against the window of the car. His head still hurt like hell.
"Dude, take some Tylenol." Dean said. "We'll be in Kansas in a little while, then we can focus on getting that thing out of your head. Hey, your phone is the one that we kept bugged, right?" He said, taking Sam's phone and called Quillon. "Nice brain surgery on my brother. Now he's got a headache. How am I supposed to work with Headache Man?"
"It's just the muscles adapting to the GPS locator. The headaches will pass eventually." Quillon stated. "You really didn't expect us to just let you go and hope you would comply."
"Was kinda hoping. Makes it easier to work." Dean said. "So you're giving my psychic brother headaches. Great shot. If we're lucky, he won't decimate a town next time he has a spasm. How can you be so completely stupid?"
"First, he isn't that powerful, second it's emotion based, not centered in pain. Certainly not something as mild as a nasty headache. Are you always so dramatic?" He asked in amusement.
"Pain brings on emotion." Dean said. "Hey dude," he said to Sam, "Quillon just called you a wimp." He laughed a bit. "Are you always so stupid? Thought you did your research on us. Dude, did you just read the Cliff Notes or something?"
"I'm not removing the device, Sam will adapt to it being there and it shouldnt trigger any dramatic displays of his abilities. if it does... I suggest he learn to control himself. "
"Son of a bitch." Dean said as he hung up the phone and tossed it back into Sam's lap. "I hate that guy. I really do." He said as the Impala crossed into Kansas.
"I'm not exactly fond of him either, but it's just a headache, nothing to worry about. Although I know where I would like to put the damned thing once we get it out of my neck."
"Yeah I can imagine." Dean said, glowering at the roads as he pulled into Lawrence after stopping for drive through and coffee. "Okay, any response from your top secret society that doesn't exist?"
"Not yet. It takes a while. Might be a day or two." Sam said as he downed more tylenol. "And we still have no guarantee he will interview me."
"True. You might be in the red headed step child of secret societies." Dean said with a smirk. He handed Sam his phone. "Call up Ash and see what he can find for us on this guy. And get everyone on the move from the farmhouse. I don't want the government knowing about them if we can help it."
"Sorry, I should have thought of that." Sam said wishing the pounding in his head would stop. He called Ash first. "Dude, got someone I need you to scope out for me. Senator Allen McKendrick."
"Senator?" Ash said, surprised. "You've got me stuck out in the middle of Eastern nowhere with a bunch of psychics and Bobby, and you want me to investigate a senator? Are you stoned? What the hell are you doing in politics? Thought you weren't going evil on us."
Sam laughed a little weakly. "I'm not... he is... or so Homeland Security says." Sam explained the latest events in their lives. "So needless to say we are screwed beyond belief at the moment. "
"Wow...when you guys screw the pooch you really screw her hard." Ash said with a whistle. "I'll see what I can find. If it's there, I'll find it. I'll tell Bobby to get everyone moved out. Don't know where, but I bet Bobby does. He's good at that."
"Yeah... just don't tell us where until this is done. Oh and... see if you can't find someone with TK that could maybe get this thing out of my neck with out turning me into a vegetable."
"Will do, chief." Ash said. "We'll have them practice or something." Which they were already doing, so they could learn to go to the store without causing an incident. Since the government had hyped up and accelertated the development of a few of them. "Give us a call when this is over. Till then I'll email you everything."
"Sounds good, be careful, man." He said and hung up. "Well that's taken care of." Sam told his brother. "We have any flexeril in the first aid kit? Maybe that would help."
"You know what will help me? Beating the hell out of Quillon." Dean said with a scowl as he reached back and brought the bag up. "Should be some in there. Okay, let's find a motel to make our little shadows as uncomfortable as possible. Gotta be a redlight motel around here somewhere."
"Dude, that's gonna make me uncomfortable." Sam said as he fished around for the muscle relaxers, rubbing at the back of his head with his free hand. "This headache doesn't go away..." Sam wasn't normally one for unnecessary violence, they had enough in their lives that they couldn't avoid without adding more but he was contemplating taking it out on the shmucks following them.
"If it doesn't, then we'll just make them regret putting it in you." Dean said. They'd messed with his little brother. Which meant in his mind it wasn't unncecessary violence. "Ah, here we go. This one looks scuzzy enough." The Winchesters could sleep anywhere, a special gift instilled in them by their father.
Sam shook his head. "We're not paying by the hour." He said. "And you get to go and get the room." He wasn't in the mood to explain that they really were brothers. Sam wasn't in the mood for much of anything at the moment. He downed the muscle relaxers dry and leaned his head back against the seat.
"Dude, I always have to get the room." Dean grumbled. "Makes me feel like your pimp or something. Fine, fine. I'll get the stinking room. You order the pizza. Bitch."
"Think we should order a pineapple, onion and anchovy special for the men in black?" Sam asked, forcing a smile. Not even able to come up with his usual come back
"Absolutely. And have them pay for all of them." Dean said with a laugh as he parked to get a room, coming out with the key. "Hopefully the headache will fade with some food, some beer and some sleep."
"Yeah I'm sure it will." Sam said, but wasn't holding out much hope until the muscle actually healed around the damned thing. Which just meant he would have to go through this all over again if they were ever able to remove it.
"Maybe we can just deactivate it somehow." Dean mused as they headed toward the room. He had to laugh a bit as he saw the faces on their shadows as they were forced to book a room at the motel also. "We'll figure out something."
"I know" Sam said, shrugging a little as the tension was spreading down into his shoulders. "Once this thing heals over it should be fine." Once inside the room he tossed down his bags and flopped back onto the bed. "Is it just me or did things get a hell of a lot more complicated when Dad sent Azazel to hell."
"You know, I thought things were supposed to be easier. Or at least simpler." Dean said, shaking his head as he sat on his bed. "Now we've got demon politicians, secret government agencies, a eugenics lab, and other kids like you hiding out because we told them to. You know that essay thing, Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kingergarten? This wasn't covered in it."
"Not even close to covered. It's like we stepped into the twilight zone, even for us." Sam said. "I keep expecting to wake up in the hospital in New Orleans."
"Dude, I woke up in traction. Let's not go that far." Dean said with a chuckle. "On a morphine drip with Missouri ordering the nurses around. How about we wake up the day I was released?"
Sam laughed. "Better yet... we just find Dad and life gets boring from there." He actually found himself wishing their father was with them now.
"That sounds like a good idea. Except you know Dad wasn't one for retirement. Even when he didn't have a memory." Dean said as he got up to get the pizza. "Yeah, the guys next door will pay for it. Dude, they're the ones that called." Dean said with a straight face as he closed the door, pizza in hand. "His idea of retirement would probably have been hiking through the Outback with a canteen and a change of socks."
"I could deal with that right about now. I could deal with the job the way it used to be. Right now... I'm tired Dean. I'm so damned tired." Soul weary. Sam wasn't sure how much more he could take and hold it together. But he didn't have the option of letting himself fall apart.
"I know." Dean said as he put the pizza down and grabbed a few slices, slapping them on a styrofoam plate and shoving it into Sam's hands. "Believe me, I know. It's so hard to keep momentum when you're the one you're following. But what choice do you have? Roll over and die? Sorry, not happening."
"I know." Sam said. "But I could seriously use some down time." He didn't use the V word. It was considered bad luck. Besides it hadn't be a real vacation, it was just Sam and John doing their best to hide Dean.
"I don't know." Dean said. He liked to just keep moving forward. Because he had no choice. Plus it made it harder to think about everything that happened if he just kept piling more stuff on it. As much as he talked about going to ground, taking a break, going to the Grand Canyon or Amsterdam...he just kept moving.
"Yeah... I get that." Sam said making himself sit up to get a piece of pizza if for no other reason than to keep the muscle relaxers from tearing his stomach apart.
"Let's just get this over with." Dean said with a sigh. "Then, maybe, we'll just go to where everyone else is and lay low. Hopefully they'll go somewhere sunny and we can just relax in the sun. You're getting pasty again."
"You worry too much." Sam said with a grin. He knew that it was more wear than lack of sun. He had far too much stress was all. He would get better once things got back to normal. He almost laughed at that. Normal.
"No I don't." Dean said. "Maybe a little, but it's my job, right?" He flipped through the channels, nothing much on. Not that there ever was. "Hey, maybe we should short sheet their beds. I've got some powder in my bag too."
"Nah... was thinking exlax in thier morning moch's... that of course we should buy them when we get them out of bed at ungodly early in the morning."
"Do we have to get out of bed ungodly early?" Dean said with a sigh, knowing he should anyway. "Well, I guess in the spirit of being co operative and compliant, we should get them some caffeine."
"And wake them up ungodly early. Now whether or not we go back to sleep after that is beside the point. " Sam said with a laugh.
"I take back all my previous defenses of you. You are evil." Dean said with a grin. "It'll be fun. So set the alarm, college boy. I'm a slacker, getting up before noon is against my job description."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures" Sam said as he rolled over and set the alarm for 4:45 am.