The drive was silent, which was expected. Knowing that made the atmosphere less awkward, but tension still remained on the surface. Castiel rode along with Dean in the Impala, deciding it would benefit more to keep the older brother company. Bobby lead the way in his pickup, to keep one of his good vehicles handy.
Cas would have offered to turn on the radio, but Dean seemed to be in deep thought, and he didn't want to disturb him. From what he had learned from being around the Winchesters, when Dean was distraught, you left him alone. Unless if he specifically asked for help, which was a rare occurrence. Especially if family was at stake, Dean was at a fragile state; he should only be pushed when necessary. And now was not necessary, so Cas settled on watching the passing scenery outside his window.
"We will find your brother, Dean." Cas reassured.
"And what makes you so sure?" Dean asked.
"Because he left on his own, and he's Sam Winchester." Cas said.
Dean stared back at the road, contemplating the angel's response.
"I hope you're right." He said.
Since the gas pedal was basically floored, they arrived to Ilchester within no time. After quickly settling into a random motel, they head straight into town. The clock in the car wasn't much use, but the sun told them it was close to noon by the time they pulled up into city parking. All three of them got out of their vehicles and met at the space between their cars.
"Alright, so I figure we split up, to cover more ground." Bobby suggested.
"I like that idea, let's go." Dean said, starting to walk away.
"Not so fast, boy!" Bobby exclaimed with annoyance. "We need to set up some plans first."
"Well, I say screw a plan, and find Sam." Dean said.
"We can't find your brother faster without a plan, and you know that. Use your brain Dean; remember, treat it like a usual case." Bobby replied.
"But this isn't a usual case, Bobby!" He said.
"I agree with Bobby," Cas said, "Sam is a subject, and we are searching for him. As you would with any other victim or monster."
Dean inhaled, trying to conjure up a way to argue back with this statement. But he couldn't, they were right.
"Before you can begin to argue, you're sticking with me this time around." The older hunter added.
Dean grumbled in annoyance. "So how are we exactly going about this?" Cas asked.
"Do you have a phone, Cas?" Bobby asked.
"No, I don't own one. I never really saw a use for acquiring one." Cas replied.
"Alright, well you can use mine." Bobby said, handing the angel his cell phone. "I think the best way to go about this, is to show them a picture of Sam. We have the resources, we might as well use them to our advantage."
Cas examined the cell phone with curiosity, as if he was from Mars. Dean rolled his eyes and waited impatiently.
"Dean, you have a photo of Sam, right?" Bobby asked after pulling up Sam's picture on his phone.
"What? Oh, yeah, I have a couple." Dean said.
"Recent?"
"Pretty recent. Plus, his looks haven't changed that much in a few years."
"Point taken. Alright, all set guys?"
"Yes." Dean and Cas said in unison.
"Good. Dean and I will take this way, Cas, you take that way. All you have to ask is if they have seen Sam, and show them the picture on that phone. Capiche?" Bobby explained.
"I don't understand." Cas said.
"What don't you understand?" Dean fumed.
"Capiche." Cas answered.
Dean rolled his eyes; Bobby glared at the elder Winchester.
"I just asked if you understand, and if everything is good. That's capiche." Bobby said.
"Oh, then I capiche." Cas said.
"Can we go now?!" Dean asked.
"You need to screw your head back on, and get it out of your ass!" Bobby shouted quietly.
"I think I'm fine." Dean said.
"No Dean, you're not. Whenever you're without your brother, you spiral. I've raised you long enough to know that." Bobby replied. "Now focus, will you?"
"I am focusing!" Dean said.
"Well focus harder." Bobby said.
The two hunters first stopped at a concession stand, knowing the worker had likely seen all of the action. To their benefit, they had a few moments before lunch came around.
"Excuse me," Dean started, "Hi, we're agents Tolson and Hoover with Missing Persons. Have you seen this man around?"
Dean pulled out his phone, which was already on a photo of him and his brother, trying out their fathers' sawed off shotguns a couple years back. The concession worker studied the photo briefly, but intently.
"Not sure, but the face looks familiar." He said.
Bobby slid the man thirty dollars with a gleam in his eye. "Are you sure?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I did see him. He was a little out of it; he seemed like he was out for something. From what I could tell, that something was drugs." He said.
"Do you know where he was headed?" Dean asked.
"No, but he was actually going towards a store down the corner, he asked for directions. It's a small shop called 'Loretta's Spice Garden', you shouldn't miss it." The concession worker said.
"You're a big help, thank you." Bobby said as the two of them walked briskly towards the small shop.
Cas awkwardly wandered around the slightly busy town square. There were so many people he could ask for information, but they all looked like they were in too much of a hurry. He couldn't help but wonder how the other hunters did it, no one remotely seemed to care enough to give him even a few seconds. His eyes finally settled upon a woman lounging on a nearby park bench; he strided over to her with a spark of confidence.
"Hello, um, I lost a friend of mine, have you seen him?" Cas asked as he sat down.
She looked quickly at the picture and then focused her gaze on him.
"Well, that depends." She purred.
"What do you mean? It's a yes or no question.." Cas said.
"If you're willing to pay, maybe I'll tell you." She replied with a wink.
"Well, I don't actually have any money on me right now, but I could-"
"No silly, I meant a little personal time, in the bedroom."
"I guess I could accomodate that, when I'm free sometime."
"How about within the next seven hours, what do ya say, handsome?"
Cas blushed as the woman began to play with his loose trench coat ties.
"Um, sure, I could always stop in tonight."
The woman pinched his cheek and smiled seductively, handing him a slip of paper with a series of numbers written upon it. "I'll be seeing you later then."
As the lady walked away, Cas realized he had never felt so confused and heated at the same time.
A bell above the door chimed as Dean and Bobby walked into the comfortably small store. They were greeted by a plump woman at the counter, who just put down a book on mythological creatures.
"Hi, welcome! How can I help you fine gentlemen?" She asked.
"Let me guess, Loretta?" Dean asked confidently.
"No, actually. Loretta was my mother's name; I'm Lanie." She said.
"Alright Lanie, we have a couple questions for you. We're agents Laurel and Hardy with Missing Persons. Have you seen this man around, recently?" Dean asked, pulling out his phone from his jacket.
Lanie put on a pair of cat-eye shaped glasses and peered at the picture of the two of them. Recognition instantly filled her face.
"Oh yes, he was here yesterday. He didn't look too well." She said.
"Did he buy or take anything?" Bobby asked.
"Well, he did buy a few herbs and some candles. I could pull up the inventory, if you want to know the exact items he purchased." Lanie said.
"That would be great if you could do that, please." Dean said.
As the lady walked over to her old monitor, the two hunters glanced at each other questionably. They leaned over the counter as she searched her recent inventory.
"From what I can gather, he purchased four red candles, a small bag of Ambergris, Frankincense, and Benzoin." She said.
"And you're positive that's what he bought?" Bobby asked.
"Yes, since I mark each time I count inventory. And I don't get a large amount of customers daily, so it's normally easy to pinpoint who buys what." She explained.
"Did he happen to tell you where he might be going?" Dean asked.
"No, sadly, but wherever he was headed, he sure made a haste to get there."
Dean's demeanor changed so instantly, Lanie was about to ask if he was alright. Dean anxiously eyed Bobby and nudged his foot.
"Thank you for your time, it really means a lot." Bobby said as they began to head out.
"No problem, I hope you find the guy you're looking for!" She called out with a warm smile.
At that point, Dean practically rushed out of the store block until Bobby pulled him to a halt.
"Dean, wait," He said when he caught Dean's attention, "where do you think you're going?"
"Bobby, whatever he bought, it didn't sound like ingredients for baking a cake."
"I get that, but we have to stay together. This could be dangerous."
"It's Sam-"
"As far as we know, we know it's Sam. For all we know, he's.."
Dean clenched his jaw and inched closer to the older hunter.
"Don't."
Bobby nodded, looking at the older Winchester with a hint of sympathy behind his eyes.
"I don't care what it takes, we will find your brother." Bobby assured.
Dean broke eye contact before tears could cloud his vision; the thought of losing his brother again, he couldn't process it. Where could he even turn? He could only hope Bobby knew what to do. Right on cue, Cas began to approach from farther up the sidewalk, hopefully serving as a brief distraction to the current situation.
"Hey Cas, find anything?" Dean asked when the angel was close enough to mumble.
"Well, I think I might have. A nice young woman offered to spare me some details later on. I tried to ask around, but everyone was too busy." Cas explained.
"Later on? Cas, you know we need details now, right?" Dean said.
"I know, but she did seem quite sincere." He replied.
"It only takes a couple seconds to answer a few questions, ya idjit." Bobby said.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm confused." Cas said.
A small smile crept onto Dean's face. "Wait, Cas, did she say why she wanted to meet you later?"
"Yes. In fact, she said I had to spend some personal time in the bedroom with her, which I found rather peculiar.."
Dean stifled a laugh that began to arise in his throat as Bobby rubbed his forehead awkwardly.
"Son, I believe you were just played."
"I'm sorry?"
"What Bobby is trying to say, is that she wanted some… um.. personal body on body action, from you. She probably has nothing that could help us at the moment."
"Wait, do you mean… intercourse?"
Dean sighed and deadpanned at the angel. "Did you really have to let the whole world hear it?"
"Well, I.."
"Never mind, we'll talk back at the car."