The Mystery Which Binds

By: Coffeemaniac

A/N: Season 7. Takes place between The Born Again Identity and Party on Garth. Bobby is dead and the boys don't know that his spirit is attached to the flask. Reviews and comments are welcome and appreciated.

Part 2

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About thirty hours later, Dean parked on the curb in front of Griffith and Associates. He climbed out and fed a few coins into the parking meter. The attack by the demons had left Sam achy and uncomfortable and while aspirin cured most of it he was still on a slow motion setting. For that reason, when they arrived in Keuka, Dean dropped Sam off at a motel.

"I'll see what it looks like while you do some more research," Dean said. He had started to regret driving straight through to New York. In retrospect having Sam drive the remaining eight hours while Dean slept seemed unnecessary. And from the way Sam was moving, it might have been too much for him.

Griffith occupied a space in the middle of a small town block with two floors and a brick façade. The dome-shaped windows on the top floor were covered by curtains. The rectangular windows on the ground floor were hand painted with the company name. Double glass doors slid open when Dean stepped on the pressure plate.

He walked up to the front desk where a pretty young woman smiled as she took off her black framed glasses. Dean suspected they were for fashion purposes only. The black and gold nameplate advertised her as Emily Perkins.

"Hi Emily," Dean said, producing a fake ID from inside his shirt pocket. "I'm from the building inspector's office."

"Where's Jim?" she asked.

Dean smiled at her. "Not the Keuka office… the county office. I need to speak with William Griffith about a project he's working on."

"Mr. Griffith retired last year," Emily said. "You folks probably need to update your records."

"I guess so," Dean said, internally cursing Sam and his faulty information. "So, who should I be talking to, Emily?"

"Quincy Walters is the president and chairman now."

"Is he available?"

"Let me check. Which project is this about?"

"The entertainment center. I don't know what they're planning to call it."

"Oh, I do." Emily blinked and her eyes turned black. "We're calling it Dead Winchesters."

Startled, Dean stepped back from the counter. He drew the demon knife out of his belt. As she walked around the desk, he spotted two more demons, both male, coming from either side of the lobby. The short, dark-haired one on his right hissed. Dean kept moving towards the door knowing that taking on three of Hell's minions by himself was risky at best. The one that hissed leapt at him and Dean slashed the knife around catching him high on the chest. He screamed out as he clutched the gaping, burning hole and stumbled into Dean. Dean yanked the knife out and jabbed it into his neck. The demon screeched as he glowed and died. Jumping away from the falling body, Dean found Emily and a tall brown haired demon stretching towards him. He spun away grabbing a trash can and flung it at Emily while he slashed at the second male. He only caught the demon's arm but it was enough to allow Dean to trip out on to the street. He ran to the ugly Ford, yanking his cell phone out as he climbed into the driver's side.

Sam answered on the second ring.

"Sammy, we definitely got something. Demons were waiting for me at Griffith."

"What? Are you all right?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"I'll call Lee. Maybe there's something more he can…crap!"

"Sam?"

"Demons outside. Hurry up."

With that the phone went dead. Dean threw his cell on to the seat beside him and stepped on the gas. Heart pounding and mouth dry with fear, Dean sped to their motel. Since he had the knife, Sam was going to be fighting with just salt and holy water.

Dean made a hard right into the motel parking lot. He found Sam standing on top of a car swinging a canteen back and forth spraying three demons with holy water. The possessed humans growled and flinched but didn't flee. Dean rolled out of the car with the demon knife clutched in his fist. He attacked the closest one to him, a middle-aged, paunchy male. He drove the knife into the host's neck before the demon realized he was there. Screaming out, smoke streaming from the wound and it crumpled on to the pavement. The other two took note of his presence and while the lone female leapt on to the car towards Sam, the remaining male tackled Dean who went down hard against the sidewalk.

The demon grabbed his wrist and twisted while Dean shoved backward trying to get room to throw a punch. Dean yelled out in pain when his arm was turned too far. He dropped the knife cursing as it clattered to the ground. He threw his whole body into an upward thrust and succeeded in getting the demon beneath him. It snarled and growled with fetid breath as Dean fought to keep it down. He looked around for the knife then leaped off the struggling body hoping to land close enough to get the knife back in his hand.

As Dean tumbled to the side the demon followed and kicked him under the ribs. Dean flipped on to his back and the demon yanked him up by his jacket then slammed him into the plaster wall of the building leaving a crack where Dean's shoulders collided. Just as Dean brought his legs up to kick him backward, the demon cried out. Its eyes turned from black to glowing red before it collapsed taking Dean with it.

Sam stood behind it holding the knife. He was breathing hard as he bent at the waist and cursed. Dean pushed away from the wall and rolled his shoulders. He cursed at the tightness he felt through his torso knowing the pain was only going to get worse. He spotted the female lying lifeless a few feet away.

"How'd they know?" Dean said, breathing hard from adrenaline and exertion.

"I don't know. GPS? Our phones?" Sam said.

"Gotta be something. The rest stop, now here? They're tracking us." Dean said.

Sam pulled his cell out and checked the settings. He turned off the GPS. Dean took the phone out of his hand, dropped it on the ground and stomped on it. Then he did the same with the phone he was using for daily use. Then he took another phone out of his inside jacket pocket and smashed it too.

"Not taking any chances," he said.

He had dropped Sam before going to Griffith but they hadn't unpacked the car yet so there was nothing to retrieve from the room.

Dean walked to the driver's side of the car and Sam went to the passenger side. Dean put the car in gear and drove away leaving the three bodies behind.

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Dean found a motel a few miles outside of town. He booked the room and the two of them settled inside. Dean noticed the seventies style wood paneling and the yellowing wallpaper as he set his bag down then headed for the bathroom.

He needed a hot shower to loosen up the muscles in his back. He didn't know what Sam needed but at that moment he was thinking about himself. He was inexplicably and irrationally annoyed with his brother for convincing him to take this case.

Neither of them had broached the subject of the attacks or the demon infiltration at the architects' office.

Dean let the heat seep into his muscles and sighed. The shower pelted him with a hard spray and it felt good on his skin. He stayed there longer than necessary, not anxious to start figuring out what to do next. Sam still wasn't back to fighting fit and whether his brother admitted it, his health limited their options.

They needed to know if the tip from Lee was true or if it was a trap to get them into town. If it was true, they needed to know where and when the "soul" factory was going to be built. If it wasn't true then they needed to know why demons were suddenly trying to kill them rather than just waiting on random opportunity.

If they could find out the location of "Let's Make a Demon Deal" then they could do some incantations in order to turn the ground holy which would limit a lot of demon activity. Then they could put some protection wards in place to keep out the rest. Finding the architect of the whole plan and sending him back to Hell was mandatory too.

On the drive to Keuka, Sam pointed out that even if they succeeded in stopping the construction, the demons could just build someplace else but Dean figured if they made the project difficult enough then the demons would give up the idea.

Dean turned off the shower and wrapped a thin towel around his waist. He used a second one to dry his hair before stepping into the main room. A chill ran across his body as he left the steamy bathroom.

Sam was sitting on the bed with his back to the headboard and his laptop resting on his legs. He glanced towards Dean then resumed concentrating on the screen. His eyes were scrunched up showing tiny lines around the edges. His lips were tight and thin. A slight but noticeable tremor ran through his hands as he clicked the mouse and keyboard.

"Give it up, Sammy. Take a shower and I'll get us some grub. What do ya say?"

"Almost done," his brother said.

"With what? What do you have there?"

"I think I found the building permits. I figured they'd need games and stuff for an amusement center so I started digging around for companies that would provide them. Anyway, I traced any large orders for this area and there was only one that seemed big enough and that lead me to a place called "Grab The Light". It's like an old video arcade, kind of a throwback to the carnival arcades."

"Let me guess, Griffith is handling the architecture."

"Yep. And it's being built one town over in Haudenville."

"'Grab The Light', huh?"

"Yeah. Catchy, I guess if you figure the light is hell fire."

Dean grabbed clothes out of his bag. He returned to the bathroom to dress but left the door open so they could hear each other.

"What do you want for dinner?" Dean asked.

"Subs. Like tuna salad or something."

"Okay. I'll go. We need beer too. Why don't you take a shower? If you squint any harder, you'll get an aneurysm."

Sam frowned as he looked away from the laptop screen. "How would squinting give me…"

"Just go with it, Sam. Your battery is still drained and we don't know what we're dealing with here."

Sam nodded as he closed the lid on his computer. Dean frowned in surprise because his brother never just gave in, but he didn't question it.

Dressed in jeans, black t-shirt and open flannel, Dean grabbed the keys to the car and his cell phone.

"Don't open up for anybody," he said.

"Don't worry," Sam said.

"Yeah, I'll stop breathing too," Dean said, mumbling to himself as he closed the room door.

He walked towards his car thinking that they should have skipped this job. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was a trap.

He glanced around the parking lot noting the cars and couple of SUV's. A small stand of trees lined one driveway leading on to Main Street. A rusted ice machine and a soda vending machine stood across the parking lot beside a pool. Green scum floated on top of the water. If Dean hadn't been already feeling paranoid he might have missed the human shape leaning against the rod iron safety fence. Dean thought it looked like someone was hiding but he knew it could just be someone staring into the useless water. He checked his hip reassured to feel the weight of his gun. As he drew closer to the pool a woman stepped from the shadows holding her hands out.

With messy brown hair hanging below her shoulders and a smirk playing on her lips, Meg, the demon, held up her hands in mock surrender. Dressed in dark jeans, a form fitting maroon blouse and brown leather jacket, she laughed as Dean scowled.

"Stop. Don't shoot," she said in a bored drawl.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be looking after Cas."

"I am looking after Cas. It's like watching cardboard. But, hey, even demon angels of mercy get a day off."

"You said you'd stay with him."

"I'm going back, I'm going back. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm here to help. It's my new thing."

Dean shook his head. "Help with what?"

"Let's go find 'gigantor' and I'll tell you everything, huh? What do you say?"

Dean scowled as he led the way back to the motel room thinking it was strange to trust her. He wondered what happened over the last few years that, after being in two different demon fights in one day, he was willing to bring one back to Sam. He imagined his father was cursing him from the grave.

Dean shoved the key in the lock and went in with Meg following close behind him. He heard the shower running so he knocked on the bathroom door earning a startled noise from Sam.

"It's just me," he said as he cracked the door open. "We have company."

"What?"

"It's Meg. She's come by to visit."

"Meg? Is Cas…?"

"Cas is the same. Just, uh, wrap it up in there. You need clothes?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam said.

Dean pulled the door closed again noticing that Meg was leaning close around him, peeking into the bathroom. He gave her a warning glare.

"Okay, okay, sitting," she said. "But, you know, I've been inside that boy so…"

"Shut up," Dean said, not happy to remember the week that Meg possessed his brother.

She smiled as she settled on the bed closest to the door.

Dean dug some jeans, a gray t-shirt and boxers out of Sam's duffle. He opened the bathroom door just enough to toss them inside then returned his attention to Meg.

"So, uh, how's Cas doing?"

"Same as when you left. Seemed a little agitated at first and then he just settled into a coma or something. Nobody really thinks he's going to come out of it."

"They don't know he's an angel. He'll come back."

"Like that can-do attitude, John-Boy."

"You know what?" Dean stopped himself from berating her. It wouldn't do any good. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard you had a demon problem. Figured you could use some intel from little old me. Am I right?"

Dean glanced towards the bathroom when he heard the snick of the door. Sam emerged, red faced from heat with hair dripping but he had put on the clothes that Dean tossed him.

"Meg," Sam said in greeting to their guest.

"Sammy, looking all pink and damp. Isn't that just what a girl dreams of?"

"What do you want?" he said, sounding as annoyed as Dean felt.

"That's what I've been trying to find out," Dean said.

"I know why the demons are getting all handsy with you two," she said. "They're putting together some kind of blood drive but for souls. Lure in as many humans as they can and then reap the rewards in ten years."

"We know that. That's why we're here," Sam said.

"Ah, but here's the part you don't know, they want Sammy to be the face of their little endeavor."

Dean froze, cold creeping though his belly. "What?"

"'Apparently, Lucifer's vessel is pretty premium. They're planning to possess the boy king and then use him to trap the other humans. Put a giant, handsome face on the program, if you know what I mean."

"Why would I give away my soul?" Sam asked.

"Don't know. But, they don't need it anyway. They're just planning to jump inside and get all cozy. I get the appeal. You know, been there, done that."

"We can't get possessed," Dean pointed out.

"Oh, well, the tattoos are fancy and all. But, it's not that hard to get rid of one, is it? I even heard they already succeeded at some potty on the highway."

Sam shook his head. "No, but I got jumped there and here too."

"And it sure seemed like they were expecting us at Griffith," Dean said.

"Yeah, well, there's a good reason for that. When we were getting Castiel settled, a very ambitious hell-spawn slipped a nice GPS tracker on your car. They've been tracking you for days."

"What?" Dean said as he stalked out the door

"How do you know all this?" Sam said.

"I have my sources, still got a few aces left and all that."

Sam shook his head. "But, you don't. Crowley wants to kill you and none of the demons are going to go against him."

Meg smiled and cocked her head. "You're worried about me."

"No. I'm not. But, I am wondering where your intel is coming from."

She pouted while Sam deliberately gave her a bland expression in return.

"Fine. I have some black market connections. I had to support myself somehow while Crowley was searching for me."

"What were you…"

"You don't want to know, Sam. The point is, one of them reached out to me; said he had a debt to repay to the Winchesters and needed me to carry the information. Apparently, you helped him out a couple years ago. So, here I am."

Dean returned with a scowl and carrying a round tan colored device. He dropped it on the motel floor and stomped it under his boot.

"It was stuck on the undercarriage by the passenger side door," he said. "Damn demons. I knew we should have switched cars by now."

"Meg was just telling me that we helped out a friend of hers and they're the ones passing out all the information," Sam said.

"When did we ever help out a demon?" Dean said.

"Not a demon," Meg said. "You boys are such bigots. It was a witch. He has family down here who've been helping with this Plucky Pennywhistle thing. They heard there were plans for you two as well and they passed it on to him."

Sam moved the lamp back on the small, corner desk. Then he picked up an ashtray and set it on the nightstand. Dean watched the restless motions knowing that his brother was scared.

"All righty then. Watch your backs," Meg said. "I'm going back to produce to watch my divine vegetable."

Dean knew he should appreciate the fact that she came to deliver news but he was just glad that Meg was leaving.

"Wait a minute," Sam said and Dean frowned at him. "All those humans at Griffith…they have to be possessed or dead."

Meg shrugged, clearly unconcerned. Sam turned to Dean.

"If they're possessed, we have to exorcize the demons. We can save those people and it might make the project too costly to try again."

Dean shook his head. "It's a building. There are probably fifty or more people in there."

"I know. That's fifty demons with meat suits."

"How are you going to exorcize that many people?" Meg asked. "Even if you were drinking demon blood again, I don't see how…"

"I'm not," Sam said, venom in his tone. "The same way we did at the police station in Colorado."

"Before Lilith came in and killed everybody, you mean?" Dean said, getting worried as Sam laid out his plan.

"That's not what happened and you know it. We saved a lot of those townspeople before Lilith showed up."

"Yeah, well, we had a P.A. system, full access to the building, time to set things up. There's no way we can pull that off here."

"Okay, boys, I'm intrigued…not," Meg said. "Have fun storming the castle."

"Will you just wait?" Sam said, impatiently and Meg stopped with her hand hovering above the door handle. "I want you to take me to Griffith and turn me in. If I'm inside then I can set up the recording."

Meg dropped her hand, folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door.

"Absolutely no frigging way, Sam," Dean said. "That is not a plan; that's suicide. Or worse."

"Dean…"

"No."

"Just hear me out. Please." Dean glared at him but Sam continued. "If Meg takes me in then I can escape from her and get access to the building. After that, I can just get the equipment set up."

"What equipment? How? The police station had a PA system, we don't know if this place does or how it works."

"They'll have a paging system through the phones. They all do."

"You don't know that," Dean said.

"Then we'll do some recognizance and find out. If it does and we find out where the main panel is then…"

"That's a lot of "ifs" to be betting on. And what about laying salt lines? How do you expect to do that?"

"You can do that. Do the outside so the demons get exorcized before they escape."

"Sam, it's a two story building."

Sam hesitated and Dean could see him mulling over that detail. Finally, he sighed before he said, "Dean, they've attacked us three times now and according to Meg, they want me. Don't you think it's worth it to get ahead of this? Isn't this our job?"

"No, I don't and…no."

Even as Dean spoke he knew that Sam had a point and they obviously needed to take an aggressive action. He also knew he didn't like it. The plan was reckless and dangerous and Sam wanted to trust Meg which made it even more so.

"All right, fine," Dean said. "Before light tomorrow, we'll see if we can break in."

"I have a better idea," Sam said. "Send Meg in."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Meg said.

"All you have to do is tell them you can get me. You don't have to bring up the arcade. Just that you heard they wanted me and you want to make points by delivering me. And while you're there, you can get a tour. Check out the electric system."

"No, uh, uh, that's not happening," Meg said.

"She's right," Dean said. "There're a million things wrong with that plan. We're not doing this based on her intel plus they'll figure her out in two seconds. We'll break in, figure it out and get out. Then we'll involve her. That's as much trust as I'm willing to give."

"Wow, Dean, you sure know how to make a girl swoon," Meg said and Dean rewarded her with a glare.

"Fine," Sam said, sounding reluctant.

Meg nodded. She started to leave then stopped and turned back around.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She said.

"I'm sure there's a rock around here that you can crawl under," Dean said.

"Dean," Sam said. He turned to Meg. "I'll get you a room for the night."

"That bed looks cozy. You sure you don't want to share?" She said.

Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance but all Dean could think about was Ruby and demon blood. Anger shot through him at the thought of another demon invading Sam's life.

Sam pushed his way around her as he left the room while Dean imagined plunging a knife through her.

Dean didn't want to leave Meg alone with all their stuff. He opened his phone and did a quick internet search for pizza. Finding what he wanted, he dialed just as Sam returned. He ordered a large three meat pizza and a six pack, gave them the motel name and room number and hung up.

Sam handed Meg the key to a room then waited for her to leave. She didn't speak, just took the key and sauntered out the door.

TBC