Chapter 3: The New Business Partner
Castiel... The voice whispered again, making the merciful God realize just where it was coming from. The word was repeated, drowning out the world around him, before a hand was roughly placed on Castiel's shoulder.
"Castiel!" Adam said, in a tone that definitely would have been ruder and louder with anyone else. But Adam knew who he was talking to now, and went for a more quieter and softer choice. He only got a nod in response, before a hand found the human's wrist, and they disappeared from the crowded streets in front of the Lady of Serenity Church.
{LEVERAGE}
It was a business meeting, Castiel had told him, and was going to be so terribly boring that even the most professional of businessmen would fall asleep. Even with that in mind, Adam had decided to follow, wanting to see what was going on. He wasn't going to be left out of any plans, not like last time...
What was last time?
Even with the minor confusion, he refused to let Castiel go peacefully until he confirmed that he would bring Adam along. It had only taken a moment before the duo had arrived at a trailer park in (judging by the license plate of a nearby truck) Tennessee. Confused, Adam was about to open his mouth and question why they were there, but went against it- it had taken a long time to just be brought along, he wasn't going to screw everything over by being annoying.
"I will be right inside this-" Castiel pointed to the trailer to his left, "trailer. Stay out of sight."
The human was about to complain that he had come along to be involved, not just kept outside like a dog, but decided against doing so. At least he was outside of the dingy motel room, he could just ask what they were negotiating later. He heard a slight rustle of paper and a creak of furniture from the outside, before things went quiet. Too quiet for Adam to be able to make out any words. Damn it.
{LEVERAGE}
"...I gather this is not a... negotiation." Crowley guessed, raising his glass slightly towards his lips, but not letting them touch. The questioning statement received a simple 'No,' the latter part only getting a raise of the eyebrows and a mumbled 'Figured as much.' "Then I graciously accept, boss."
With that, Crowley tipped his glass towards the new God, before going to take a sip. He gave a sigh when he noticed that the cup was empty and moved to fill it, before realizing that Castiel was still staring at him. Well, that's unnerving.
"Yes?" The King of Hell asked, before noting internally that his tone was too rude for talking to a being that supposedly killed an Archangel without breaking a sweat. Not that that note was going to affect anything, he just noted. God or not, Crowley wasn't going to change himself completely to keep him happy.
"For now, I want you to keep an eye on Adam Milligan. I have work to do, and need someone to ensure that the Winchesters do not get to him." Castiel instructed, ignoring the confused look on his 'business partner's' face. Crowley had heard of the brat through the rumors of Hell a few years ago, the youngest half-Winchester who was being held with dear old Luci and Michael. The fact that he was out explained with he wasn't mentioned as one of the things the Cage had to hold, but it did force Crowley to be on babysitting duty. "I'll be in touch."
There was a slight ruffle of the daily paper, signalling Castiel's departure.
{LEVERAGE}
The illegitimate child of John Winchester walked down the street with God. That sounded like the beginning to a bad joke, if Adam was going to be completely honest. But it was a simple walk down the street to a restaurant, Castiel finally noting that it had been a while since the human had eaten. His body was also hungry, but that wasn't his main concern nor priority at the time. Well, it was supposed to be a simple walk, but the human of the duo knew that if it was supposed to be simple, it was going to be anything but.
There was a rattling sound to their right, slightly in front of them but getting closer with each of their steps. Upon further inspection, Adam could see it was a homeless man that - judging by the physical difference of his eyes - was blind. He knew what it was to be on the poorer side of things, before all the angels and death and ghouls, when it was just him and his mom trying to get by. So Adam felt around his pockets, trying to see if there was any money he could offer, but couldn't come up with anything. It wasn't as if people that went missing for three years and were only recently saved still had their wallets with them, anyways. But God didn't seem to have any problem with money, as he dropped multiple coins in the homeless man's can. There wasn't a smile on the former's face, and he went to walk away before the homeless man called out.
"God bless you, sir!"
That sentence stopped them completely, and Adam realized that there would be another 'God' monologue following the look that Castiel had. He had to spread his knowledge and gain believers, but what he had been doing had been too much lately.
"You're a true believer." He started, and Adam willed himself to not roll his eyes. Yep, he was right, another God monologue. "People say I'm wrathful, but I only punish liars and those who forsake me. I am a just God."
"Excuse me?" The man asked, confusion growing on his face. Adam could guess that what he was thinking was along the lines of 'I had to be helped by an insane man, didn't I?' Instead of explaining himself, Castiel just bent down to be on level with the man sitting on the ground. He put his fingers to the man's forehead, only giving a simple instruction of 'See,' before the once blind man opened his eyes. Instead of confusion, surprise was evident on his face.
"Oh my God, I can see!" He exclaimed, looking around before directing his attention to Castiel. "Your face... what's wrong with you?"
Adam looked over, trying to see what was wrong, but was only met with a face turned away. Castiel excused himself and headed quickly into the closest building, rushing into the bathroom to see what was wrong. Adam attempted to follow, but was left in the rush of the crowd.
"Hey," Adam said, getting the attention of the homeless man once again. "What did you see?"
"Blisters, cuts... it was a mess. What's wrong with your friend?"
"He-" He was happy for a distraction of a ringing cell, since Adam had no idea what was wrong with him. He answered, surprised that it was Castiel on the other end, explaining that he had things to do and Adam should get his food and return to the motel room as quickly as possible. All Adam could do at the time was give a 'Sure. Hey, wh-' before he was hung up on, leaving the confused human all alone.
{LEVERAGE}
He didn't know why, but Adam answered the phone when an unknown number was calling it. There should not have been an unknown number, since the only person that knew he had the phone was Castiel, and the new God had put his number in (well, told his number to Adam and made him put it in, since he didn't understand how the phone exactly worked yet) before giving it. Nonetheless, in the middle of the motel room, all alone, Adam answered, mildly surprised that his greeting was cut off with a rushed question.
"Adam?" The stranger asked, a voice that the teenager wasn't able to put a name to. He recognized it, yes, but had no idea who it was.
"Whose asking?" He questioned, confirming that it was indeed him but also silently saying that he wouldn't say anything else until he got a name.
"Oh, thank G- er..." The person on the other end of the line said, letting go of once held breath. "Adam, it's Sam. Are you alone? Is Cas there with you? You have to stay on the line with me, this is important."
"Alright, alright. Er, no, Castiel isn't with me. Do you mind telling me what's going on?" Adam replied, confused and - even though he wouldn't admit it - a bit scared of what was going on.
"It's nothing, just stay on-" The youngest Winchester heard air pass through the phone as it was quickly moved (although Adam wouldn't have known, it was because Sam had held his phone behind his back at the sight of an unwanted guest.) "Cas."
"'Cas?'" He repeated, even more confused than before. Adam vaguely heard a press of a button, the change to call on speaker.
"I didn't want to do this, but now-" Was that Castiel? So, the thing he had to do was meet with Adam's brothers. He could have just said that...
"You can't kill us." A second voice said, and Adam could figure out that that was Dean.
"I said nothing about killing you, Dean. In case you remembered incorrectly, Adam is first." That caught Adam's attention. It was him first? What did that mean? Was Castiel going to... kill him? Because he was related to the Winchesters?
"Annoying little protozoa, aren't they?" A third voice, one of an older man, said. This one was vaguely familiar, but Adam was not able to put a name to it. "'God?' You look awfully like a mutated angel to me. Your vessel's melting. You're going to explode."
The second part of the conversation went quickly, Adam not able to keep up with the talk of 'Purgatory' and did they say levitation? He hated the fact that the phone sounded terrible on speaker, since they obviously weren't talking about levitation. It was someone, he guessed, not something. But while they were arguing over the phone, Adam knew he had to do something. 'IAdam is first,' Castiel had said. He had to get away, but the first thing he had to do was-
"And where do you think you're going?" Someone asked from behind him, interrupting Adam's planning and making him stop dead in his tracks. "You were told to stay inside the motel room, little not-moose, and I'm not going against my boss just because you want to go and be a Winchester."
"...ted Purgatory? To keep those clever, poisonous things out. Now Castiel has swallowed them. He's the one thin membrane between the old ones and your home."
"Who are you?" Adam blurted out before he could stop himself. Was this who Castiel was talking to in Tennessee?
"The name's Crowley." At the blank stare he received, the stranger now dubbed Crowley gave a groan towards his stupidity. "King of Hell? Ex-King of the Crossroads? Maybe called 'Business Partner' by Feathers? Do any of those ring a bell? Oh, it doesn't matter. Point is, you aren't leaving."
"Enough."
The voice startled the duo in the motel room, Adam looking at the phone again to make sure... well, make sure of something. They had stopped talking for a moment, listening into the rushed fighting-conversation that was on the other end. Adam decided to ignore the questioning look that Crowley gave him, not wanting to answer any questions. The human of the two held the phone with one hand and his head with his other, a headache growing. Was it just him, or was it getting really hot in the room?
"Stupid little soldier you are." That voice, he recognized it now. It belonged to the man that saved his brother's soul, the soul that was left in...
"Why? Because I dared open a door that he shut? Where is he? I did a service, taking his place." The Cage.
"Service? Settling petty vendettas?" Lucifer. Michael. Fire. Hell. Adam put a hand to the wall in an attempt to keep himself up, his head spinning.
"No. I'm cleaning up one mess after another - selflessly." The world around him was changing. The dull lights became hooks, every sound he heard becoming laughs or screams, and the walls were moving in to trap him. No. NO! Darkness began to consume him, blocking out the view of... was that Michael in John's body? He was shorter than Adam remembered...
He vaguely heard someone calling his name, but another voice was saying it as well, dragging him towards unconsciousness.
A/N: HOW DOES ONE CROWLEY.
I had so much difficulty with the last part, since Cas was threatening to kill them but Dean was saying he couldn't because Death was their bitch, because I/Castiel said in the first chapter that he wasn't going to kill them until the second sign of them going against him. All I could think was 'wow, this sucks. They broke down the wall so early.'
Oh well.
(I hate that freaking ending. I might rewrite it. I don't know.)
(I PASSED TWO THOUSAND WORDS FOR A CHAPTER. YES!)
On another note, nearly passed 100 views. Cool :) Thanks! But question - am I doing this right? Am I on the right track and all, all the characters right and all that jazz?
