Chapter 2

"Ya know you're an idjit for mentioning it right?"

Sam gave his sheepish grin while Bobby scolded him for mentioning a potential case. There were some things out there that didn't exist and were the product of the imagination like Bigfoot though Dean would certainly say that he lived with one. He then went on the defensive and pointed out, "Bobby I know you think it's a load of crap…"

"It is because the accidents were all caused by stupidity," Bobby countered. "More likely it was started because of the reputation of the illegal racing that goes on there."

"Bobby, it's real," Sam declared. He was aware that it sounded foolish since even Angela was giving him a look but it was more thoughtful. He sighed and explained, "Look the major accidents occur once a month by the light of a full moon. However there has been an increase in accidents on the highway and they were all taken out the same way. Pit maneuver at high speed and the driver spins out of control and the vehicle ends up flipping."

"More like something out of COPS," Dean muttered. He gave a slight grunt when he felt a kick on his leg from Angela. He looked up and scowled at her. She was actually buying this? "Seriously Sam did your arm resting make you soft at your research?"

The thoughtful look on Angela's face was encouragement to continue since everyone was starting to write him off. At least she was reserving judgment though he suspected that she kind of liked the idea of going after a racing ghost. It had him worried though since she was prone to taking risks without thinking about the consequences and in light of their recent escapade with Gordon Walker's crazy friends…

To swoop in for the kill, Sam pulled out the laptop and flipped it to the video that he found. "This was taken at the last race. He played it through and explained, "The car appears out of nowhere and then it disappeared when it heads down the highway. Plus I found a police report from two kids who said that they saw the car appear and then disappear."

"It still don't mean that it is something," Bobby said. "Folks say the car appears anytime there is a race going on that stretch of highway."

"What about the name Bobby? They don't call it Death's Highway for nothing," Sam replied.

"They call it that because it goes into a steep grade with hairpin turns. There are many reports of accidents of some type of racing they do there."

"Torge racing but that part of Hwy 40 doesn't have twists and turns. Straight up street racing," Angela replied. She had been considering the evidence that Sam presented. While she herself thought it was an unlikely case, she took into account that they have worked with less before. Besides she learned a long time ago that things named certain things maybe out of consequence of accidents and stupidity were not things to be taken lightly.

"What?"

Aware that she had muttered something that was relevant to the supposed new case, she looked up from her thoughts and explained, "Torge racing. It's the kind of racing on narrow stretches of road with tight turns, like mountainside turns where two cars compete. There are three types. One is the cat and mouse race and more popular. Two cars start off. The lead car wins if the distance between the two cars differs drastically or the second car wins if they take the lead. If one crashes, the other wins but that's not the case here."

Dean looked at Angela like she had just grown a second head while Sam appeared thoughtful. Bobby just shook his head in annoyance mostly at Sam as if to say 'now see what you've done.' It was Dean who spoke though, "And when did you become an expert on this torge racing?"

Angela looked at Dean as if he was getting excited for nothing and replied, "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

Sam couldn't help it and started laughing. He knew better since he caught her looking at racing. He suspected that she may have done some racing back in her day or rather at one point. Maybe it was on a case similar to this one. He looked at her and she gave a slight nod in his direction.

Bobby couldn't help but mutter, "Idjits." He then turned to Sam and said, "Alright Sam. You have the video but that don't mean that there is anything going on."

Dean was still trying to get over the shock that Angela sounded so knowledgeable and all she got it from was a movie. He managed to say, "Well we have worked with less and I think it is a good idea we hit the road to do something. I think the research has gone to Sam's brain."

"Eat me Dean," Sam replied with a slight scowl.

"Alright take it if you want but don't come crying to me if you find that there is nothing but stories about punk kids trying to be the best at whatever," Bobby replied. He thought it was foolish but as Dean pointed out, they had worked with less. "Just let me ask ya something: how are ya gonna get close to the people who actually saw the damn thing?"

Dean looked at Bobby as if the answer were obvious. "The usual, maybe a sheriff or something."

Bobby looked at Dean and then Sam and they obviously had no clue about that. Glancing at Angela and he could tell that she was already working something out. He wouldn't be surprised if she was scouring the green book for what she would need. From the looks of things, she wasn't going to be telling or she might but later. "Alright so when are ya heading out?"

"Hey Sam, don't you find it odd that Bobby asked how we're going to do this job?"

"Because he knows the typical covers won't work," Angela called from her spot in the back seat where she was lounging and looking through images on her computer pad.

Dean was driving and couldn't effectively turn around to look at her but he scowled at her image in the rearview mirror and replied, "Oh yeah and how do you know that?"

"Dean."

"It's all right Sam," Angela replied. She didn't stop looking through the images as she spoke, "The crowd that hangs around the gathering point the Torge are racers and mostly of the illegal kind. We're talking street racing, scouts and scanners… the works. Most are teenagers from high school and a few young guns that've been in trouble with the law. They're not going to talk to cops."

"And you know this how?" Dean was curious about the whole thing. This looked like it was another one of those puzzle pieces to Angela's past before she hooked up with them.

"I… used to hang around with a few groups in the nineties and I worked on racers for the fifties and sixties." The hesitancy was not born out of embarrassment but rather from the fact that Angela was shifting back and forth between two images and trying to come to a decision about it. She had no qualms about revealing her slight wild side if it could be called that. Finally deciding she did what she needed to do while giving a slight hum.

"Always thought you had a bit of a wild girl in ya," Dean replied. "So that sweet Mustang you had when you left Chicago, do we need to stop and pick it up?" He would like to see that ride again. If he wasn't mistaken it was the Shelby model.

"Not mine anymore."

"You're kidding me right?" Dean peered in the mirror. Angela was just staring at her computer looking calm and intent like she was researching the supernatural. "How could you sell that piece of art?"

"Dean," Sam interrupted.

"Shut up Sam."

"I never said I sold it," Angela said as she finished what she was doing. "I just said it wasn't mine anymore. Shelby has a good home with the princess. It was easier for me to carjack from impound lots and the like or just hitch hike after that."

"So if we're going to get in with these guys, how are we going to do that without a car?"

"You'll get in with the Impala. There's still a healthy respect for first gen for true aficionados." Angela finished her typing and put her pad in her lap. She pulled out her iPod and got it ready to listen to. "Oh by the way, we need to make a stopover in Terre Haute before we get to Brazil."

"Oh yeah? What do you intend to do there?"

Angela glanced at the front seat. Dean was driving so the only thing he could do was look at his rearview mirror. Sam could glance back and at that moment he did mostly to see what she was doing and probably ask if he could use her computer since it was easier to work with in a moving car. She gave a sly smile knowing that the next few words were going to rock the boat literally. She replied, "Oh build me a racer." She then handed over her computer pad to Sam with a look of innocence.

It was a full three minutes before Dean could say anything, "You're going to build a racer? With what?"

Sam just scoured through her computer and managed to pull up what she had been looking at the past few hours. He found images of cars and engines and other parts. From the looks of them, they were pretty expensive. He knew she didn't pay too much attention to money when she gave it away to complete strangers. This was going a little over the top unless she had a trust fund or something that she didn't bother mentioning. He couldn't help but ask, "Forget with what, how are you going to pay for all that?"

"I have means," Angela replied knowing that they were going to badger her. She didn't give them a chance. "Let's just say that there are a few friends who owe me favors and got me deals on the parts and what I need." It was a fib but she was never comfortable about the amount of money she had access to as a result of a good head for business and family holdings that had her set for life. It was partially true since she did have a friend in the business who said he would get her anything if she needed a car.

"Still that's a lot of money." Sam was perplexed. Even if she got a deal on parts and the car, she would still need a nice wad of cash to pay for them.

"Yeah and we do credit card scams and hustle pool. Not to mention that you bargain shop like the best of them."

Angela started becoming a little uncomfortable. It was her own fault though and she might as well go through with it. She replied, "Yes I can but that is with the essentials money. The racer is with my personal money from various jobs outside of hunting." She crossed her arms and settled down to listen to her playlists.

Dean recognized the posture and realized that he may have pushed too hard on that. It wasn't his business where she got her money. Hell she hustled with them and what she did with her share was her choice and usually it was to buy food, gas and other essentials for them. He said nothing more and continued the drive. After a while he said, "Well I guess we'll have a looker when you're finished building the thing."

Angela looked in the direction of the mirror and made a slight hum. She closed her eyes with a slight smile on her face and continued to listen to her iPod. If they heard what she was listening to that would have been something to talk about for a while. She stirred up the water enough for now.

Sam knew that Dean apologized in his own fashion. Angela and Dean always talked cars whenever Dean tried to get one up on her. He would quiz her about timing ignitions and other stuff that would end up blowing Dean's mind. It was rather nice to see his brother and Angela getting along like they did. What bothered Sam about this was how she reacted about money. She did tell him that it wasn't that important to her. The more he thought about it as he looked through her bookmarked search databases the more he came to realize that maybe she had money but she didn't like showing off with it. The idea certainly had merit.

"Hey grab some pie while you're at it."

Sam gave the bitch face at Dean as he opened the door to the room they were staying in for the night. They were about half a day away from Terre Haute at the rate Dean tended to drive. They could have gone all the way through but Dean decided to get some extra sleep which Sam thought was a load of bull. Angela had slept most of the way there so she could have easily taken over. It was something else. He left the room and headed in the direction of the minimart nearby. He had intended to go for a walk and maybe find an excuse to talk to Angela.

Dean waited until Sam left the room before heading towards the window. It was just as he expected. He grinned as his brother stopped at Angela's door and paused wanting to knock on it. He watched as Sam decided against it and continue on his walk towards the minimart. Dean shook his head in a tolerant manner. He went to go lounge on the bed of his choice and try to visualize the type of ride that Angela was thinking of.

Sam walked through the three to four aisles of the minimart just looking until he came across the news rack. He picked up the paper and began to look through it trying to see if anything about the case was in the paper. He found an article that spoke of a near fatality car crash. It sounded similar to what he had been researching about the Silver Streak. The car had been racing down highway 40 when it fishtailed out of control and rolled over. The kids in the car said that a silver car hit them before it disappeared.

"You gonna buy that or just stand there and look at it?"

Sam looked up to see the owner, a burly middle aged guy, looking at him with suspicion. He failed to notice the two guys that had been watching him as he picked up the paper and walked to the rack to pick up the packaged pies for Dean. They weren't Angela's pies but they would do in a pinch. He stopped to look at the supposedly healthy stuff like the trail mixed and dried mixed fruit and found himself making a slight face at it. He really was spoiled on her cooking. The thought made him slightly smile.

He took his purchases to the counter and waited while the owner who was also the cashier meandered his way up. While it was annoying to wait, Sam was ever polite and looked around at what was on the counter. Something caught his eye and he picked it up to look at it and found it to be a miniature pewter model of a horse and he was reminded of the case with the kelpie since it was foremost in his mind. Then looking at it, it looked a lot like that colt Child of the Water. Smiling slightly he set it down where he got it from and fished out the cash to pay for the stuff.

The owner gave him a look as if he were dirt or something. It didn't bother Sam since he had long since learned to ignore it. He was polite and thanked the owner before heading out unaware that the two who had been watching him followed him out. He passed a group of guys hanging out around their motorcycles but didn't give them any reason to pick on him. The sooner he got back to the room, the better.

"Hey you gonna buy that?"

Sam heard the mocking tones and didn't give the guy any attention. He kept walking. It was better to just let it go.

"Hey I'm talking to you."

Sam received a push from the back. It wasn't worth it but it was then he noticed that he was surrounded by maybe five guys. It had him thinking what it was about him that people thought they had to try and take him on. Dean always said it was his freakishly huge frame. "Come on guys. I don't want any trouble."

The group laughed. The one who mocked him said, "Looks like big guy here is a bit of a girl." He then looked at Sam and gave him a slight push, "Don't tell me you're a girl now. Eh tough guy."

"Don't," Sam warned. He had his fair share of fights but he wasn't stupid enough to get into a brawl where he was outnumbered. Actually he could kick ass as Dean put it.

"Or else what?"

Sam stood up like he did when he was annoyed with Dean. He wasn't going to give in to the fight these guys wanted. He didn't say anything. He could only hope that they would realize that he wasn't going to fight back and give up.

That only seemed to encourage the guy more. He pushed Sam again. "Come on now. Or else what?" He kept pushing at Sam until he was close enough to be grabbed by one of his partners.

As soon as Sam felt the arms close around him, he reacted and struggled to get away. The thing was the grip was very tight and yet the guy was shorter than Sam. Still he struggled against the grip until he felt a punch in his stomach followed by one across the face. He was then thrown to the ground and given a kick.

"Come on. Get up."

Sam felt himself being picked up and set on his feet. He was stunned still at how hard the punches were. He looked up to find that the guys were advancing towards him. Apparently they were not going to take no for an answer. He stood ready but he didn't raise his fists up.

That apparently was not the right answer either. One of them came fast and Sam managed to block but a second guy got a punch in and had him doubled over. That encouraged the others to come in. One caught him with a punch across the face and then he felt a kick in his chest and he was down. He was effectively winded and he felt sore spots crop up all over his body and another one forming where he was kicked.

"Come on now. He's down."

"Pathetic human."

Sam looked up at the guy who initially taunted him standing over him. The guy motioned to his partner and he was hauled to his feet. So it was apparent that the guy was going to continue beating him though he was sure now that these guys weren't human. He gritted his teeth from the pain and tried again to get away just as the guy stood to give him a kick.

The kick never came. When Sam looked he saw Angela holding the guy's leg. The one who had hauled him up and had been holding him started to attack her. Still holding the first guy's leg, Angela swung the guy around and let the two collide. The others started in with punches and Sam watched as Angela used their own momentum against them.

It ended when someone said something and they backed away. Angela faced the newcomer while Sam tried hard not to fall down. The newcomer said, "You should have let the human handle his own problem. It teaches weakness."

Angela looked at the newcomer and replied, "I hardly call five against one fair. Too much of a burden."

"Then settle it one on one with the one who challenged him."

Angela narrowed her eyes. "Unfair advantage. I suggest you leave now."

"Who is this woman to tell us what to do," one of the original attackers asked as he touched Angela's arm.

It was instinct for Sam to reach out and stop him but a hand grabbed his wrist in a tight but gentle grip. Sam looked and saw that Angela had grabbed his wrist with her right hand while she grabbed the offending hand with her left. Sam noticed that her eyes started glowing and glanced around to make sure no one was watching. He also noticed that the guys who attacked him and the newcomer had their eyes glowing too. It confirmed that Sam hadn't been dealing with humans.

Angela maintained eye contact with the guy who was the apparent leader. She then started talking in a different language. Sam had heard her mutter a few words before in that language but he had little idea what she was saying.

Angela had switched to the ancient language of the vampires. She knew that they would understand her better. She answered the question while holding Sam back for his own safety, "I am the one that wields Absolution and again I suggest you leave."

The leader responded in kind, "You dare disgrace your own kind? We settle this now."

"You are nothing but thugs who dishonor the ancestors of our race."

"We must always test our strength for the war."

"There is only one war," Angela replied, "And that is against those who wish to end it. You are little better than bullies."

The newcomer looked at Angela was a slight mocking smile. He then said, "Then maybe we should settle this now. Have the human and my man have a go."

"I repeat: you have an unfair advantage. Leave and honor can be salvaged." Angela was appealing to the older sense of honor of the vampires since they were acting upon that. She would rather leave this without a fight. Yet it seemed that was what this group wanted. They apparently thought that testing their skills against humans the size of Sam or those foolish enough was a way to prove themselves.

"Nothing can salvage honor except a fight." The leader then smiled in a cunning way. He then said, "There is only one way to settle this. Your human fights them all in one place. The tournament."

"No."

"Then expect frequent company when you least expect it and no mercy will be shown to the human's company."

Angela felt her temper rise. She gritted her teeth to prevent herself from doing anything rash. She saw that they meant what they said. Sure she could say no and walk away now and she could defend against further ambushes but if they were on a case, then it would prove to be cumbersome if they were on a case and they couldn't afford it if someone were to get hurt. Yet she didn't want to risk Sam's life over something that she considered was meant for showing off. She glanced at the guys who had ambushed Sam and then back at their leader. There really was little choice in the matter. She replied in their language, "Alright. The tournament but I ask one request. Your boys and any others who are thinking of this are to leave this human and his brother alone until then."

"So pushy for the supposed Malachi of Absolution," the leader replied in mocking tones, "But I like that. You have your request. No one will bother your humans until then but there will be penalties if you don't show." He then barked and order and they left, eyes still glowing.

Angela waited until they were gone before letting her eyes stop glowing. She then released her hold on Sam and asked, "Are you all right?"

Sam grimaced slightly but otherwise he was fine. "Just sore but otherwise fine. Angie what did those guys want?"

Angela continued to stare off in the distance for a moment before picking up the plastic bag. She handed it to Sam and said, "Trouble."

A/N: Leave it to Sam to get into trouble and he didn't even do anything? Nice little revelation about Angie and her liking cars. Stay tuned for the next thrilling chapter of Ghost Battle...