Hunter's Mystique
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its Characters including Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Castiel, etc. They are the property of Eric Kripke and The CW.
Author's Note: Hey guys, here's chapter two. It took me a little longer than I thought to get this one out, but I'm already more than half way through writing the next chapter so it should be updated faster if my exam schedules don't get to crazy. I really hope you're enjoying this. Please read and review if you got any comments you want to share with me!
Chapter Two
Vintage Goods
The brother's climbed back into the car after a full day and a half of driving, followed by another day of rest and recovery in a motel room near Boston. After almost three days together, Sam had expected that he and Dean would have discussed their issues and prior fights by now, but instead they opted to ignore the tension.
Sam pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket as Dean eased the car out onto the open road. He handed the piece of paper to Dean who read the scribbled address one more time to ingrain it into his mind.
"You sure this is the right place?" Dean asked.
"It's the only C.J.'s Auto Shop in Worcester, so I'm pretty sure it's right." Sam responded annoyed by the small amount of confidence his older brother had in him.
They road in silence the rest of the way and after a wrong turn or two they pulled into the parking lot of an old fashioned garage. There was a nice sign above the door that read C.J.'S in large letters.
Dean cut the engine and got out of the car. Sam followed his lead. Dean couldn't help but smile as he took in his surroundings. It was a big place. The outside parking lot was full of cars to be fixed or picked up. Inside the garage itself there was a range of various tools lining all four walls. There were four beautiful vintage, muscle cars taking up most of the space in the main room: a black 1955 Chevy Bel Air, a cherry red 1959 Cadillac, a red and white 1955 Buick Special Riviera, and a deep blue 1969 Chevy Camaro SS. All four were gleaming with a fresh coat of paint. This was his heaven.
Each car had its own section in the garage, occupying the four corners, leaving a relatively open circle of space in the middle. There was low music pumping out of a boom box sitting on the stool that was next to the Camaro. Dean smiled as he recognized the beginning beat of AC/DC's rock anthem "Back in Black." He turned his grin to Sam.
"This place is awesome!" He exclaimed.
"It's a garage." Sam observed blandly.
"I know!" Dean replied excitedly.
As the boys walked closer towards the radio, Sam noticed a pair of feet sticking out from under the car. The person was wearing black high socks and a pair of scuffed-up work boots. Sam pointed out the legs to Dean and approached cautiously, very aware that the feet had not moved once since Sam had seen them. Dean eyed his brother warily, with a sinking feeling in his gut that something was wrong.
The boys came to a stop right above the feet. They glanced at each other, silently preparing to bend down and inspect the ever-still body. Suddenly, the boys saw movement under the car and sprang away as the feet rolled towards them.
"Shit!" Dean said, rubbing his hand across his forehead and breathing deeply.
"Well hello to you too…" Said the girl who was now sprawled out at their feet. She had been lying on a mechanic's dolly fixing the car when they had approached.
"Sorry. You weren't moving. We thought you were unconscious or something." Sam explained as his heartbeat slowed back down to its usual pace.
"You thought wrong." She replied easily, hoisting herself up from the dolly. "I'm perfectly conscious." She explained further, demonstrating this by intentionally pinching her arm in front of the boys' faces. "Thanks for the concern though." She added, striding past the boys towards a large sink at the back of the room.
Dean watched her closely as she turned on the sink and slowly washed oil off her hands and arms. She towered above the sink at a languid five foot ten. Baggy cargo pants adorned what seemed to be a pair of long, tan legs, revealed by the strategic bunching up of her left pant leg. She wore a well fitted, army green, ribbed tank top that clung well to her curves, a sweat stain curling down her spine. Grease smears dotted up her slender neck to the long mess of chestnut brown hair that was spilling out of a loose bun. The sun streaming in from the open garage door reflected off the streaks of natural blonde and red highlights running across her hair. Glancing at his brother, Dean noticed Sam also checking out the exotic, brunette beauty. His eyes skimming across her toned arms to her flat stomach and finally landing on her butt. The boys continued to stare at her as she shut off the running water and grabbed a towel.
"So are you going to continue to stare at my ass or are you gonna fill me in on what you want?" She asked as she turned towards them with a smirk on her face. Her bright, blue eyes danced with amusement at their gawking. The dust of freckles across the brim of her nose scrunched up as she flashed her white teeth in a bright smile. She had a thin face and a slightly crooked nose, as if it had been broken on at least one occasion. This flaw gave her character; adding to rather than detracting from her beautiful face. Sam and Dean were impressed by how attractive she was in her current, dirty, sweat glistening state.
Dean cleared his throat. "Don't flatter yourself." He replied, trying to cover up his embarrassment, but she didn't seem fazed. Sam elbowed him sharply in the stomach for his rudeness.
"We're uh…I…sorry." Sam apologized sheepishly before getting to the point of their visit. "We are looking for Charlie Warren. Is he around by any chance?" Sam asked politely.
She cocked her head to the side in an obvious display of curiosity. "Oh yeah? What exactly do you want with Charlie?" She questioned with a grin,
"It's kind of personal. He's an old friend of ours." Dean explained.
She narrowed her eyes at them. "Is that right?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows at her reaction as she thought over their explanation. "I'll go get him for you." She decided, suddenly making a graceful turn on her heel and gliding into what Sam assumed was the back offices.
"Interesting girl." Sam noted with a smile.
"Smoking girl! Bad attitude though." Dean commented.
"This coming from you?" Sam scoffed. Dean nodded before Sam's comment sank in and he turned to his brother, offended.
Before any words could escape Dean's lips, the girl returned to the room with an older man in tow. The man was tall even though he seemed to slouch. Wrinkles lined his forehead until they reached the beginning of his salt and pepper hair, the rest of which was covered by a baseball hat with the garage's insignia. He had scruff on his face, signaling that he hadn't shaved in a while. He had dark brown eyes separated by a wide brimmed nose. He was fit for his age with strong arm and legs, except for the start of a beer gut underneath his plaid shirt. He gave the boys a big grin as he approached.
"Uh…Jade here," he nodded to the girl, " tells me you boys have something to discuss with me." Sam nodded as Dean gave Jade a pointed look, making it clear that the conversation was private. Jade gave him a challenging smirk before subtly slipping away to a nearby car.
The older man noticed Dean staring at her warily, worried that she was still in hearing distance. "Don't worry about her. Tell me what you want." He said seriously. Sam nodded.
"My name is Sam and this is my brother Dean…We're John Winchester's boys." If the man knew the name there was no evidence of recognition on his face. He merely nodded.
"We need your help." Dean blurted out, annoyed with Sam's indirect methods.
"With what?" The man asked. The boys just looked at each other. "Well, spit it out!" He urged.
"With a hunt." Dean stated simply still aware of Jade's relatively close presence. Sam and Dean scrutinized the man's face as he mulled over their words.
"You want me to go hunting with you?" He reiterated slowly and the boys noticed his eyes moving to glance discretely at Jade.
"Yes." Sam's reply jolted the man's gaze back to them and he began to shake his head vigorously.
"I'm sorry, boys. I can't help you. I've uh…I've given up the hunt. Retired. You're on your own." He started to back away, heading in Jade's direction when Dean latched onto his arm.
"This is extremely important. Maybe we can step into your office, somewhere more private, to discuss some crucial details." Dean gazed at him, begging to be heard. They stared at each other for a moment before a noise from outside the garage caught the attention of the four inside.
"Yo C.J. where you at?" Yelled a kid as he walked into the shop. "My transmission is jammed again and I need you to do that little trick to fix it for now." The kid was tall, well built with jet-black hair. He was sporting a letterman jacket and a pair of gray sweats. He stopped yelling when his eyes caught the group at the center of the room, Jade joining the boys at the sound of the teen's voice. "C.J. please…"
Jade glanced at her boss, realizing his lack of movement at the young man's plea. "I'll take care of this for you while you have company C.J., but you might want to wrap this up. We have a lot of work to catch up on." Her gaze lingered before she abruptly turned and jogged to the customer.
Dean reluctantly tore his eyes away from her retreating form to focus on the older man in front of him. "As I was saying, can we go somewhere and talk? In private." He implored.
"I'm sorry fellas. A change of location won't do anything to change my mind." He responded sternly, reaffirmed by Jade's insistence to get back to work. Any possibility that he would help them had officially flown out the window.
"Please, we need your help. We were told to find you." Sam pleaded.
"Told to find me? By who?"
"It's a long story that you might not completely believe." Sam said slowly.
"You know what? It doesn't matter either way. I can't help you. You're going to have to find someone else because I'm not the person you need." He said, walking away.
"You don't even know what we're hunting!" Dean yelled, as a last ditch effort to capture his interest.
"And it doesn't matter. Boys, I can't. Okay? But how about I make it up to you a bit. There's a great pub down the road- about two blocks. I'll be there all night. If you stick around tonight you should swing by. Drinks are on me." He offered with a genuine grin as Jade wandered back into the garage.
"Wow, you two are still here. This must be a real interesting conversation." She remarked snidely. The boys turned to her as she approached, Sam slumping in defeat and Dean glaring at her in annoyance.
"Why do you care? It doesn't involve you." He growled.
"Really?" She replied coolly. Sam noticed her twitch of a smirk, mocking Dean as if saying she knew more than they thought. Both boys were more than surprised that Dean didn't intimidate her in the least.
Sam squeezed his brother's arm and started pulling him out of the garage before a full on battle of wits started between the two. "Don't forget about the pub- it's called McGuinty's. Stop by if you can." The older man reminded them as they retreated through the garage doors.
"Excuse me?" Jade turned on the man once the boys were out of earshot. "You invited them to the bar?" She asked, completely bewildered.
The older man clamped his mouth shut in what would have been a comical way if she hadn't been so pissed. Waiting a moment for a response that never came, she stocked off to her office in anger, slamming the door shut with a resounding bang.