Cat and Mouse

1.

It was a quiet day, and that made Sam and Dean instantly suspicious.

The sun was shining, the coffee was hot and there was pie, so Dean was pretty much set up. Sitting in the window booth of the diner, he was enjoying a moment of peace while Sam was scrolling through news articles online.

The pretty waitress topped up their coffee with a smile and Dean was idly wondering if it was worth trying to get her number when his phone rang.

"Huh. It's Cas."

Sam glanced up as Dean answered the call, his heart sinking as he saw the way Dean's expression changed.

"Hey, hey, slow down man. What is it?"

Sam couldn't hear the reply, but the way Dean's jaw clenched at Cas' words told him all he needed to know.

"Okay. Where?"

Dean hung up.

"So. Trouble?" Sam asked, already gathering his things.

"How d'you guess?" Dean replied sourly, throwing a handful of bills onto the table, picking up his jacket.

"Did he say what kind?"

"Not much. Something's killing angels, and he can't tell what."

The brothers left the diner, heading back to the Impala, parked across the street.

"So... not another angel? Or a demon?"

"He says not. I don't know how he can tell, but he needs our help. It's only a couple of hours away."

"Okay."

"I knew it was too good to last."

Dean's good mood had vanished as he slammed the car door behind him.

"What was?"

Dean gestured back toward the diner.

"Quiet. A day without monsters, or weird stuff, or dead people."

"Or dead angels," Sam added.

"Or that," Dean agreed, and they drove away.


When they arrived, Castiel was waiting for them, talking quietly with a petite young woman outside an abandoned building.

"Well, that's a good start," Dean remarked, sarcasm laying heavy on his tone. "An empty warehouse. Nothing bad's ever happened in one of those."

"I'm guessing you don't think this is nothing," Sam replied, not entirely without his own sarcasm. "That Cas is mistaken, and it's not a big deal?"

"Honestly?" Dean asked. "If it wasn't for Cas, I wouldn't care. Angel business ain't our business, right? They made it pretty clear they don't want us involved enough times."

"Still," Sam tried to be diplomatic. "Couldn't hurt to find out what's going on. Keep ahead of the game for once, maybe?"

Dean shrugged, and they went over to join Cas.

"Thank you for coming," the angel greeted them. "I wish I could tell you what's been happening, but it's difficult to explain to a human."

"Oh, then I'm so glad you called," Dean snarked, but he followed Cas into the building anyway.

"Why did you call us?" Sam asked, genuinely curious. "What can we do that you guys can't?"

Castiel looked slightly embarrassed.

"I - you have more experience than I do in this sort of thing. I was hoping you could see something I missed."

"A fresh pair of eyes. I get you."

Castiel led them to the body, still laid out on the floor, the shadow of her wings burned into the ground.

Surrounding her were spray-painted red sigils, though the other angels had opened a large crack in the floor that ran right through them, allowing them to approach.

"I wish I could say this is unusual, but unfortunately there is still much infighting among us. However-"

Castiel indicated the multitude of small puncture wounds around the woman's neck.

"What is unusual is the way she was killed."

The Winchesters crouched down beside the body, trying to see what he meant.

"I thought only one of your swords could kill an angel."

"It was. But the way she was tortured before her death... I believe her Grace was being extracted."

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance, eyebrows raising.

"How is that possible?" Dean asked.

"And why?" Sam added. "What would anyone want it for?"

Castiel looked even more serious than he usually did.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps for use in magic. But as far as I'm aware, only another angel can extract Grace."

"And it couldn't be an angel, because of the warding," Sam deducted.

"Maybe a demon figured out a way to do it." Dean frowned.

"That had occurred to me," Cas replied. "But I don't believe this was the work of any common demon. This had to be something powerful."

"Wouldn't put it past Crowley to try something like this."

"I did consider that," Castiel agreed.

Sam stood up, considering the scene from different angles.

"Who is she?"

"Her name was Lailah. She is not of any particular importance to any faction I am aware of. I don't know why someone would target her."

"Someone got a hate-on for angels?" Dean was examining the body more closely, turning her over. Other than the marks on her throat, there was a stab wound to the chest, obviously the fatal injury, but no signs of a fight.

"Possibly. The idea that someone is hunting down angels to steal their Grace is... disturbing."

The brothers paused.

"This has happened before? Exactly the same?"

Castiel nodded, staring down at the body.

"I was informed of others, but we did not see the pattern until now. There has been so much killing..."

"It's okay." Dean slapped the angel on the back in a brotherly fashion. "We'll get the sonofabitch. What have you looked for so far?"

"Zophiel has been scrying, with limited success," Castiel indicated the petite young woman standing behind him, the one he had been talking with earlier. She raised a pendant crystal on a thin chain, swinging it from her fingers.

"Whoever it is, they're either very good at hiding or they're something I've never seen before," she told them.

Dean and Sam looked her over, a little surprised to see an angel inhabit the form of a twenty-something woman with multicoloured hair cut into short spikes, a number of piercings and tattoos, dressed like she was going to a gig at CBGB.

She seemed amused at their confusion.

"I know, kind of an unusual vessel. But just cos she looks like Lisbeth Salander, doesn't mean she's not the type to pray. We do okay, me and her. And I prefer Zoe, these days."

"Um, okay," Sam managed, momentarily thrown. "So.. you don't know who killed, uh, Lailah was it?"

"Uh huh," Zophiel/Zoe's eyes filled with tears as she looked over the corpse of her fellow angel (or rather the body of the vessel), lying on the scorched remains of the angel's wings.

"It must be some kind of demon, or a monster. You kill monsters, don't you?" Her face brightened a little, staring up at Sam hopefully.

He smiled back, slightly awkward.

"Uh... We try."

"We got a better track record than most," Dean interrupted. "Whatever this is, it's toast."

Zoe winced.

"I like toast," she replied, her expression turning mournful.

There was an uncomfortable pause, then she wandered away, kneeling down inside a circle of candles and spinning the crystal again.

The brothers stared after her, confused.

"Is - she okay?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Castiel replied, brow creasing in incomprehension. "She's always like that."

"So..." Dean tried not to roll his eyes. "What else you got? Any footage? Cameras?"

"Not yet." Cas dug in the pocket of his coat for the fake FBI badge. "Should we go to the police station?"

"Uh, that might be difficult to explain, seeing as how the police don't even know she's dead yet."

Cas stared back at him, not following.

"They don't call in the FBI until after they find the body."

"But we're not real FBI."

"Then they definitely wouldn't call us in. Look, man, we'll do it ourselves. But you'll either want to call in the police, or clean this up as soon as you can, okay?"

Castiel looked around the warehouse, covered in spray-painted Enochian symbols, currently filled with lit candles and a dead body in the middle.

"Okay."


This takes place during Season 8, which I've only watched once, so there may be errors.

I've often posted stories in one go, but I'm dividing this one into four to see if that makes it easier to read.

Although the title won't make any sense yet.

Any reviews gratefully received!