Chapter Two- Free at Last
Bast was unable to see or hear in her prison, but she could tell she remained in Egypt. She sensed the questions her captor had as well as what passed for fear, curiosity, wonder, delight. They believed she was an artifact, a decoration. She was a weapon; one forged by her creator to protect her family and destroy their enemies. She often appeared frivolous and playful to her brothers and sisters, but her creator knew what power she could wield. And what patience she possessed.
She could wait. She knew how. But, in the meantime, her father and the rest of her family were without her protection. She could tell there had been shifts in power several times during her incarceration. She could often feel the presence of the humans and otherworldly beings as they passed close to her prison.
Then, she felt another. She knew it was a celestial being. She had hoped it was a family member, but sensed differences in the level of power in the creature. She could sense that there was something different about him. Maybe she could influence him subtly.
She calmed the anger and frustration that she felt since she was first tricked. She could tell he was there with her now and he was alone. She put all the sensual pleasure and curiosity she could emote and pushed power through her bonds. When she attempted to use Power, however, she was struck with excruciating pain. She could tell that he could feel her presence in the form of those emotions. She sensed interest and amusement from him. In addition, Bast sensed the rebellion in him. She could feel the mischief and whimsy. His presence left, but she knew she had the scent of him now. Yes, she had patience and she could wait.
Her disembodied form curled around inside the urn. Occasionally, she would sense flickers of power from outside her prison. She strained the limits of her prison to determine what was happening. Her range was very limited, and the exertion of power was painful. She waited.
Then, bright lights and chaos! There were fountains of sensation she could feel all around her! She reveled in it. It was exciting and she was alert for the first time since becoming imprisoned. She wondered what could have happened to cause such a change in her captors. Perhaps her family was coming for her! She strained to detect order from chaos. It filled her with anticipation and wonder. I think I'm back in the mortal realm! Would the creatures from the Host have brought her here? She thought not. They were all about Order. She was comfortable with the Humans because she enjoyed the chaos of them. She was always surprised by what they were capable of doing- for good or ill.
No, she thought she was with a member of the Host, but not any she thought she had felt before. What could have happened? Then, she realized. It was the same angel as before, but his presence was so changed, she barely recognized him. She could almost hear him crooning to her. He spoke in soft tones and promised she would be free again. He bargained and pleaded with her to wait, to be patient. He muttered to her from time to time, but she could only catch the edges of his sending. She sent power and tried to assure him that she was his friend. She sent curiosity and promises of a future partnership. She had been patient and she wanted out. She was waiting, waiting, waiting.
Then he was gone. It must have been for a long stretch of time, because she could not really remember the feel of him. She wondered if he left her. She thought to herself how she had planned on betraying him, turning on him if he allowed her out of her prison. But, now, she wanted him to come back. She would have given up that course of action just for him to speak to her, send a tendril of sensation to her. It was dark and she had no sense of anything outside. She could not be certain of time here. She had no true idea of the passage of events or seasons. Then, after what felt to her like an eternity, she detected the angel back to take possession of her urn. She did not like the emotions or ambitions she sensed from him. She growled low in the bottom of the urn. He was covetous and angry. He did not seem to have the power he had before, but she sensed that he would do anything for his own gain. This was unlike any but one of the Host's creatures she thought she knew.
LIGHT! FREEDOM!
She was loose! She formed an image of how she would manifest and felt the power course through her to form that image in flesh. She also felt the white hot pain on her wrists. She submerged the pain behind the rage and let those feelings fuel her power. She became a lioness and emerged from the urn battle-ready. She looked around her. She was in a circle of Power and she still wore the Enochian bracelets in this form. She looked at the bright blue eyes of an angel. He was tall with sandy blonde hair and dressed in such clothing Bast had never seen before. Her surroundings were so foreign she spent quite a few moments to determine to what sort of place she had been brought.
The angel's silky voice from outside the circle spoke. "Nice Kitty…" He crooned, "Welcome back to the mortal world, Eye of Ra."
=000000=
Sam and Dean Winchester pulled the black Impala into the shiny suburban neighborhood, which looked like it had been built in the fifties. They approached a single story apartment complex of maybe a dozen units. The impala pulled next to the green Camaro as the mysterious fellow hunter was getting out. She grinned at the brothers, nodded her head to the corner apartment and walked toward the door to unlock it. She held the door for them as they approached her.
When Sam and Dean entered, they saw a paper trail taped to the walls of the very small single room apartment. There were ancient writings on papyrus as well as computer print-outs everywhere. It looked so much like how the boys would work their hunt; they relaxed a little and began to look over the trail. Or rather, Sam did. Dean kept his eyes on open and watched the woman in front of him with caution. There were few pieces of furniture in the Spartan one room. There was a large bed, two upholstered chairs and a chest of drawers. There were dairy crates turned on their sides which housed stacks and stacks of books. There was a small table and two wooden chairs near a counter that held a microwave, coffee maker, a small dorm-sized refrigerator and a toaster oven. She moved to the bed, slid to the middle to sit cross-legged and watch the two men waiting to have their attention.
"You want to tell us what's going on?" Dean demanded after a few moments. Sam turned to face the woman on the bed and she grinned.
"I am looking for a demon." She began. She moved from her place quickly and with the grace of a dancer as she rose to stand next to Sam in a fluid movement. She pointed to the papyrus and translated for them. "This is an account of the sorcerer and follower of Apep who ultimately ended up causing the death of Queen Ahmose." She paused to see if they would argue with her. The Winchesters looked skeptical but waited for her to continue. "He was said to have been 200 years old when he died, or rather, was killed."
She stood staring at some of the pictures, drawings and texts pasted to her walls. She shook herself from her reverie to find the men looking at her with the bored expressions of poker players at the table. She grinned. "You guys wanna have a little fun and help me kill this evil son of a bitch?"
Dean wasn't buying it.
"I'm not buying it." He exclaimed. "Listen lady, we don't know you. You won't tell us your name. You just conveniently show up when my car mysteriously shuts down on the side of the road. You are conveniently a Hunter and need help… our help, on a demon hunt. How did you know who we are? And how the hell does a hunter earn enough coin to drive around in a tricked out Camaro?" Dean walked a few steps to stand right in front of her. He grabbed her wrist at the bracelet and lifted it up. "And can you explain why silver burns your skin?"
The woman grimaced and sucked breath through her teeth when Dean grabbed her arm. She steeled her expression. Sam caught the pain and anger on her face and moved closer to Dean. "What are you doing?" he whispered to his brother.
"I am just really tired of the supernatural sons of bitches in this world taking us for a ride, using us as pieces in their own little private games!" He came very close to the woman's face then. "Tell me what the Hell is going on." He squeezed her wrist to emphasize his point "Now!"
Sam approached her and took the wrist Dean held. Dean released her, but still fumed. Sam examined the bracelets. He was looking at the symbols on her bracelet. The woman remained quite still and allowed his scrutiny without comment.
"Dean, this isn't silver." Sam looked into the pools of green as he and this woman locked eyes. "These are angelic runes and this is angelic steel."
She confirmed Sam's assessment by nodding. Sam released her wrist. "Okay," he said. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"
She pointed to the papers on the walls. "I have been following this particular demon for a while now. His human past traces back before the reign of Cleopatra VII, during which time he devoted himself to Apep, the Serpent." She walked to the lines of papers on the wall and her eyes became hard and she clenched her teeth. She murmured barely audible as she recounted her search for the sorcerer and how he had become a demon. "The sorcerer believed he had been granted eternal life. And in a way he had been. His soul was sold a long time before his death. He is… was, when he was human, an agent of chaos but did nothing for anyone but himself. He caused madness in the People of the Nile," she paused. She looked at the men watching her. Dean continued to fume and Sam looked at her in interest. "I will not speak his name…" her eyes lowered, "Or mine. He can pluck it from the air and find me. He knows I am hunting him and… and he listens. He has eluded me since I… began chasing him here." She looked at Sam, "He is here, Antef. He often has the ear of the powerful and divides Peoples. He was in Arizona for a while. I was so close to him." She clenched her fists in front of her, and then turned to Dean. "He came here to start again. He will turn the People against each other. He will scapegoat and point a finger at those who are different. He will lay the blame of all the world's ills at the feet of the poor and unprotected… and he will encourage your leaders to rise against them. Will they have a protector?"
"We don't involve ourselves in politics," Dean stated. "You didn't answer my questions."
"I did nothing to your car, Dean. It wasn't coincidence, but I can tell you, I did nothing to the car." She turned to hide a grin. She went to sit on the bed again. Sam sat in the padded chair near the door facing her. "I am called Kat… though I have already said, that's not my name. I am a Hunter, Dean. I have been for a very long time and I really don't like this demon. He is subtle, which is not exactly a demon strong suit. He learned at the feet of the most horrible creatures in Hell and he is… was a sorcerer." She held up her wrists. The red scars beneath the silvery bracelets were burns as well as scratch lines. "He did this to me. He placed these on me to prevent me from killing him. He limits my ability to… do my job. I want your help." She hesitated a moment and continued, "Of course I know who you are. Who doesn't know of the Winchesters?" A slow smile grew on her face. "As to how I earn coin… I can show you that, too"
It was growing dark as the two cars approached the abandoned airstrip. It had been a private airfield of the rich and corrupt for a long time, now it was filled with land jets in the form of modern day muscle cars, import scene, doorlammers, dragsters, and custom builds. Music blasted from everywhere, but was drowned out by the blare of engines screaming in the night and an occasional blowout or burn out. The impala followed the Camaro to a section of the field where classic vehicles, modern muscle cars and suped-up Hondas lined a curved taxi runway. There were young men of many nationalities next to vehicles and watching the new-comers as they approached. Sam and Dean emerged from the impala after parking next to the Camaro. They looked around and attempted to appear confident and as if they truly belonged. There were some curious looks at them and their black car wondering, probably if they were seeing a sleeper. The expressions of interest turned to dismay or disdain when they recognized their companion.
Kat walked toward the Winchesters with a broad grin on her face. She was as tall as Dean and wore dark jeans, an emerald t-shirt, leather boots and leather jacket. The three stood in front of their cars for a moment before they heard an angry voice above the engine noise and blaring music. "What in the hell are you doing back here?"
The three turned to watch a very large and muscled man with dark brown skin and black hair approaching behind a short, stocky Asian-looking man. The shorter of the two addressed Kat as he approached. "We had a deal!" He exclaimed with clenched teeth and a grimace. She continued to grin at the man and greeted his companion. "Paco? Hey, Chaparron! You still working for this loser?"
Paco shrugged and smiled, "It pays the bills." He replied.
Kat turned her attention to the shorter man. She reached out her hand to touch her fingertips to the shorter man's chest. She drew her touch down his shirt to let her hand drop, but moved to lean forward in his space. "Adam, I have a proposition for you." She cooed. "First, though, I want to introduce some friends of mine. This is Antef Johnson," she gestured to Sam "and his brother, Mike." The boys looked at each other but said nothing to contradict her.
Adam didn't even seem to have acknowledged the introduction, and continued to glare at the woman in front of him. Kat sighed and rolled her eyes. Sam thought, with her choice of outfit and her mannerisms, she reminded him of his older brother in many ways. He had to grin at the idea.
"What proposition, Kat?" He asked.
"I know you like making money, Adam. I want to help you make money. You can hire me as a shoe tonight. I will drive yours or mine. What do you think?" Adam's body language and expression relaxed and lit up. "Pinks?" She considered his request. She looked behind her. The Winchesters scanning the lines of cars, some of which looked like they had been dressed up for a fashion show. She imagined her green Camaro on that line. She shrugged. She came for the fun. "Yup." She said shortly. "You drive yours." He turned and walked back the way he had come. She could see the dollar signs being calculated in Adam's expression. She turned slightly to see she was being approached by the Winchesters. Dean leaned in to her.
They were eye to eye and very close. "This is about having a little fun, Dean." She said as she noticed his expression. She went on. "Sam needs to hang out around here with the book maker. You should come in the car with me. I am gonna run a race for Adam there. He's gonna pay us because we are gonna earn him some pink slips tonight. Then, we are going to go and have drinks." She turned away from him and caught up to Adam and his enforcer. Dean just stood there watching her when Sam caught up to him.
He didn't like it. He felt like he was being toyed with, again. He wanted to know more about this woman. He wasn't sure if she was supernatural or not, but he wanted to know more before he confronted her again. He didn't feel like walking blind into this, and he wanted to know what the endgame would be. This job was getting on his nerves. He just wanted a little time off; maybe relax a little, figure stuff out. He didn't want to take orders from little Miss California-girl. He had to admit though. This place was pretty cool. And she said her car was very fast. Maybe it would be fun. It had been a long time since he was even in the same zip code with fun.
Kat loved the smells of fuel—gasoline, alcohol or super gas- hot rubber and the sounds of engines revving hot on a track. It was the adrenaline and anticipation. Her senses were hyperaware. She didn't really care how well she did in ¼ mile tracks; this was the payoff for her. This was how she got the Camaro in the first place. She hardly ever raced for pinks, just cash. But, when she saw how she could win the green hot rod, she went all in. She looked back at Dean. He was an adrenaline junkie, too, she thought. He has just forgotten. He should use this opportunity to use the skills and heightened awareness of the Hunter for the pleasure of it. She turned to see him and his brother standing near one of Adam's mechanics.
She started to bounce on the balls of her feet. She was barely paying attention to the instructions Adam was trying to deliver to her. He takes himself so seriously, she thought. "Lighten up, Andretti. I know what I'm supposed to do. Just make sure you cough up 10% of the take." She dropped her amicable façade and stepped right up to Adam. Her eyes bored into his. "No cheating, Adam. I will know if you do." The large enforcer stood watching and Adam cast glances at him as if to inquire if he was going to let her speak to him in this way. Apparently, he was. She smiled up at Paco. Hmm. She eyed him more speculatively. Maybe drinks won't be the only way to celebrate after winning a couple of races.
"You're one to talk," He replied. She eyed him with a grin, a sparkle in her eye as she winked and turned.
She went back to the brothers and tossed Dean the keys to Camaro. The keychain had only the one key on it as well as a cartouche and a metallic Baby Phat cat logo. Dean and Sam hurried to catch up to her. "Go get the Camaro and we'll go pre-stage, " She grinned broadly at him. He scowled at her, but she could see it. He was excited, too. Sam was worried, but Dean was ready for fun. His pupils were large and she could see his pulse at his neck was fast. She turned to Sam and grabbed his elbow, steering him to a skinny pockmarked man collecting bills nearby. She knew him as Axel. She also knew it wasn't his actual name. He really liked Guns n' Roses. He also really likes cars. He thought Axel was better than Roger, she supposed.
"Axe, this is my very good friend, Antef. He's gonna hang out with you while I work, yeah." She didn't smile at all at this exchange. She disliked Adam's bookmaker. She saw a metaphorical snake behind everything he said and did. She could see Sam wasn't happy about this. "Sam, would you just hang out here and watch? I know you're not happy, but I will make it up to you."
He wasn't happy that this woman shows up in their lives and takes them around so fast they had no chance to catch their breath and process. She wasn't forcing them to do anything, and nothing they did was anything they would necessarily object to. He just wanted to know what the hell she was doing and why she was doing it! She looked up at him and stood up on tipped toes. She kissed him on the lips, turned and walked back to his brother. What the hell?
Dean watched the exchange with no little apprehension. Kat was essentially splitting the brothers up. He wasn't having any part of them being separated. He knew he couldn't trust her. He didn't want her exposing Sam to danger alone and he certainly didn't want her calling the shots! He set his jaw and lifted his chin in belligerence.
Kat saw it immediately. Oh, here we go. She knew he was going to scrap with her for control and top-dog status. She changed her posture and as she approached, took a more submissive stance. He registered sub-consciously the switch in roles and his stance relaxed marginally. She slowed down her approach to him. She looked up at him through eyelashes and drew her chin down to mirror an opposite message from what he was sending. She made him the leader without saying a word.
She suppressed a grin. When she was close enough to him to touch, she lifted her face to his and kissed him, reached up and stroked the back of his neck. He stiffened slightly in surprise but then she felt his hand on her waist. "You do want to have fun, don't you?" she asked quietly with a catch in her voice. He hedged briefly, then the grin he flashed her answered for him. She took his hand tentatively and she waited for him to turn. She let him lead them back to the car. "What about…" He looked toward his precious impala.
"Your car is safe." She assured him. She walked to the car and drew a symbol with her finger in the dust of the hood. He didn't quite see what it was, and there was a glint from her bracelets that briefly looked unnatural. She turned back to him from the other side of the green car. She got in the passenger seat gingerly rubbing her arms.
He got in and turned the key to bring the Camaro to life. He knew she had modified this car. There was no back seat and the sound system was impressive. She had opened up the hood for him at the apartment. He looked down at what must have been jet engine tech. He didn't even recognize some of the key components of the engine. He wondered if she did. He looked at her and noticed her eyes were shut and she was still holding her arm. "You okay?" he asked her. Kat looked at him with those beautiful green eyes. He could almost forget his suspicions that she might not be human. Almost.
She grinned at him and told him to get it in gear. They moved through the makeshift streets to stage the car. There was a Christmas Tree up on scaffolds that would start the racers. Dean supposed no one like the idea of flagging between two of these mods the way they did in old James Dean movies. He moved the car to pre-stage and he reveled in the way the vibrations of the powerful engine felt through the floor and through the steering wheel. He felt as though he were just holding back raw power with his bare hands. He felt the familiar sense of being watched and looked at the woman in the next seat. She was watching him. She looked like she knew exactly what he was thinking. He guessed she must, since she seemed to do this quite a bit. They got out and the fire drill change of drivers happened quickly.
They buckled in and Kat reached behind her to get a hat and handed it to Dean. He looked at it but didn't take it from her. "I only have the one helmet, Dean. This isn't exactly a sanctioned NHRA event, but you should have some protection besides your thick skull." Dean declined with the simple expedient of throwing it back where she found it. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Here then." She said in a near whisper. She looked at him and pulled a chain from her pocket. At the end, he saw a cartouche like the one on her keychain. She slipped it around his neck and kissed him softly on his cheek. "Just in case." She said with a smile.
Kat turned back to watch a purple Dodge Charger roll into place next to Dean. Kat was smiling when Dean looked at her. She reached over to prep the juice and set the car to burnout, warming the tires. She refused to line the car to Stage it. She kept jumping into another burnout as the purple car approached the staging. She could see the frustration and annoyance play on the Charger's shoe. Once Kat moved the car and the light went amber, she was all business. The tree lit up and she goose egged the start to pull into the front. By the time she hit the speed trap she had left the Charger well behind. This was why Adam didn't like her there. She could holeshot consistently with all zeroes in her reaction to the tree. This is why he agreed to let her race.
It was worth the adrenaline boost to do it for pinks. Dean, even though he grabbed hold of the "Oh Shit" handles and leaned back into the bucket sheet, was smiling and sweating. She knew he felt it, too. His breathing got under control again by the time the cars hit the shutdown area. She turned the car to head back to the staging area. She was watching for the guy with the times. Quarter mile in 4 and the Charger must have blown something because he didn't come close to his dial-in.
Sam got the impression very quickly that the bookmaker Adam employed was skimming. He would speak quickly and change rates and odds based on who he was speaking to. He cast glances at Sam from time to time, probably to see if Sam was keeping track. When he didn't say anything, Axel continued to make books.
"Hello, Sam." He heard an accented voice from next to him. He turned to find Balthazar standing at his elbow. "This is a new experience for you, I'd wager, but not at the rates that one is keeping." Sam looked all around him. He didn't see any other angels or fighting or anything really outside what he thought was normal. Balthazar was relaxed and amused. That didn't bode well for the Winchester boys. "What are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"Oh, you know me," Balthazar said with his silky voice, "Just checking in with you. You had such a problem last time we met. How did that turn out for you?" Sam looked at the angel and blushed slightly but schooled his expression into hard stone. He wasn't going to play this little game with the angel. Dean was right. In fact, they were both tired of being played by these dicks. Sam looked like he was going to ignore the angel, so Balthazar continued to goad him. "So, dear brother managed to cheat at cards and shove that pesky soul back down into you." Sam looked around again. He did not want this conversation to be over-heard. He really did not want to even talk about it.
He was ashamed that the last time he had seen Balthazar; he had been summoned by then-soulless Sam. The angel had told him how to corrupt his vessel to prevent the soul from taking purchase inside him again. Sam had worried that his soul would be so damaged, he wouldn't be able to cope with the torture Lucifer and Michael may have inflicted upon it. Balthazar had told him that if he committed patricide, he could prevent it from happening. He would have to kill the closest thing to having a dad outside of John Winchester he had ever known. He would have had to kill Bobby Singer. Luckily, his brother had stopped that from happening, but he also succeeded in getting Death to go rescue the soul from the cage holding the archangels in hell and shove it back inside its vessel. Sam was relieved to find that he didn't remember all that had happened. He was sure he didn't want to know all that happened after throwing himself and his brother Adam into the pit consequently trapping Lucifer and Michael and ending the apocalypse. Except that he was there, in that cemetery, very soon after, minus his soul.
"Where is that big brother of yours, Sam?" Balthazar inquired. He scanned the crowds around him. There had to be hundreds of people here. He scanned the line of cars and spotted the Impala. He focused his search to the area around the black car that was precious to Dean. Sam watched him briefly before he grabbed the angel by the front of his colorless shirt and threw him up against the side of scaffold mount and pushed his face very close to Balthazar's. "You don't need to worry about Dean, Balthazar. We are tired of turning around and finding one of you standing around trying to yank us into whatever terminally effed-up crap you and your family are dealing with. Go back to your daddy and leave us alone!" He released the angel when he noticed that several people who stood around Axel had stopped what they were doing to watch the two. Some had hands near the waistbands of their pants, probably near a gun or other weapon. He pushed Balthazar away from him who straightened his shirt and smoothed his hands over his front. He looked at Sam who continued to glare at him with barely contained rage.
"It's really too bad you feel that way about it, Sammy. See, I came here to see you because I had been thinking of your little situation since last we met. I feel just awful for you and I may have a solution for your dilemma. You understand? I know that the, eh-hemm, 'wall' is only temporary. But, there may be a solution that will be more permanent… I may have a way to heal the injuries to…" he glanced around at the people still pretty close and able to over-hear their conversation, "… to the part of you that is so badly damaged. You could be whole without any… problem." He watched as Sam's expression turned from anger to speculative. Here fishy fishy… take the nice bait.
"I don't think I want to trust you, again, Balthazar. Every time we take up a deal with the supernatural, Dean and I get completely screwed. I am not interested in setting either of us up for that kind of thing again." Sam turned his back to the angel and watched the strip as the next cars were staging their cars. When he glanced back over his shoulder, he saw that Balthazar was gone. He couldn't stop thinking of the words, though. There may be a solution that will be more permanent.
Racing for pinks is really very rare. Most driver/owners don't want to risk anything they aren't willing to lose. Still, Kat and Dean managed to take two more cars off the hands of their much chagrined owners. The Camaro was rolling up to stage for the next, and last, race when there was a commotion to the west of the airfield. Kat recognized the signs of impending trouble as did the others that she saw were closing up shop. Well, this is when we call it quits for the night. She spun the wheel and the Camaro spun tires to whip it 180 degrees from the staging area. She had to slow down for pedestrians as they ran in all directions at once. Imports and exotics were heading down the strip already as the flashing lights became visible over at the entrance. Kat cut off a black Monte Carlo headed toward a hanger, stopping just long enough to threaten Axel with bodily harm if he didn't let Sam in the car. The Camaro and Monte Carlo burned out toward the hanger and the roll top dropped. Other cars were taking cover here as well. Dean recovered from surprise relatively quickly to ascertain what exactly was going on. They got out of the cars and walked over to an office where all the other drivers, mechs, techs, and bystanders had escaped to gather. Adam had a set expression on his face and he looked over to Kat, gesturing for her to come closer.
"Can you do anything about this?" He asked her. Kat looked out the window. She shrugged and replied,
"Let's see what happens, first."
Cars were scattering to the four winds and the sirens were coming closer when Dean looked out the window and saw his Impala still out there among the dust and debris flying in the exhaust of the fleeing racers. There were other cars there as well, but he didn't give a rat's ass about what happened to them. He wanted to know his car was going to be okay. He gripped Kat's arm tightly. She hissed softly at him but made no move to wrest her arm from his grip.
Paco approached Kat and Dean to look over their heads at the events unfolding outside. They heard the screech of wheels and crunch of metal. They heard the squeal of sirens flying past. The whoop of a police car stopping nearby was followed by the crash of a car. They witnessed an import car fly past the window… directly toward the Impala and the few cars parked next to her. Dean gasped and withdrew his hand from Kat's arm as red flames began to flare from her wrists. Kat stared ahead at the car flipping end over end. Suddenly, the car stopped in midair and lowered slowly on to what was left of the wheels. The cars parked in the lot were untouched by the devastation. Kat turned to face Dean and promptly went limp. Dean caught her in his arms and carried her out of the office, through the throng of people still staring out the window.
He carried her to her Camaro and placed her in the driver's side seat. She opened her eyes a little to look at Dean, his brother coming up behind him toward them. "Told ya, we'd have fun," she whispered; then, passed out.