A/N: If you guessed Bonanza, you're right! Dear Sheriff Coffee is from the show (I don't own his character). Now, let's see what Gabriel's probably really bad plan is...


Chapter 4: Prison Break

Sam alternated between pacing a worn track in the dirt, leaning against the wood post, and picking at a loose thread in his shirt. His negative vibes must've been catching, because the horses had begun fidgeting restlessly as well. Or maybe they were hungry. Sam briefly considered trying to find some hay or grain, but he didn't want to run into Dalton at the stable again. He just hoped the three animals would have the stamina to carry them in their getaway.

Which was not going to be as easy as Sam had hoped, even if they managed to free Dean without a hitch. For as the sun set, he realized that horses didn't come with headlights and there were no lanterns or streetlights set outside the town limits. The countryside was gradually swallowed in inky darkness that would make navigating it difficult. 'Course, that also meant it'd be difficult for anyone to pursue them before morning. An hour after the sun had disappeared, however, a half-moon crested the mountains in the east. At least they wouldn't be riding completely blind.

People petered out of the saloon to stumble home drunk. No one spoke to Sam, which he was grateful for. If they wondered why he'd been standing outside for three hours, they didn't comment loud enough for him to overhear. Maybe no one would ever suspect him of trying to break his brother out of jail. A coyote's howl broke the silence in what felt like a chilling herald of doom to come.

He started pacing again. Where the hell was Gabriel? If Sam hadn't seen how pissed Kali seemed with the archangel, he might believe he and Dean had been duped, and this was just another lesson the Trickster was trying to teach them. But Gabriel was a drama queen, so it was the little things he was trying to cover up—like the black eye, or his apparent dizzy spell—that made Sam suspicious.

His fingers snagged the loose thread, which he'd managed to unravel three inches, and began worrying at it again when a concussive thunderclap sundered the air and shook the ground. Sam whipped around as a building several blocks down exploded. The horses jerked, almost knocking into him. Blazing orange crackled across the midnight sky, scattering embers to the wind as splintered wood and brick bombarded nearby structures.

Sam stared slack-jawed for several long moments. The initial fire receded to burn dully within the center of the ruins, spewing smoke into the air to blot out the stars. Shouts suddenly filled the night as people burst from their homes and began running toward the scene. Sam looked around helplessly, unsure what to do.

"Looks like someone's trying to rob the bank," Gabriel's voice spoke from behind.

Sam whirled on the archangel, eyes widening. "That was your signal?"

Gabriel leaned sideways to peer at the devastation. "Okay, I may have used too much dynamite."

"Are you insane?" Sam sputtered. They needed a clean, quiet getaway, not to get the entire town out of bed!

"Come on, it's the perfect distraction!" Gabriel waggled his brows. "Now hurry up, Hoss. We got Little Joe to save." He hopped forward, unslung the three reins from the post, and began leading the horses away from the blaze. Sam had no choice but to follow the deranged angel around the corner and up the street to the sheriff's office. They skirted the edges of the buildings, keeping to the shadows, and left the horses in the side alley.

Gabriel practically skipped up to the door and barged in, but thankfully the place was empty. Whoever had been on duty had probably rushed off to investigate the explosion.

Dean stood in the tiny jail cell, pacing like a caged lion. "What the hell is going on?"

"What's it look like?" Gabriel quipped. "We're bustin' outta here."

Dean arched his brows, hope flitting across his face. "What was that noise?"

"Gabriel's idea of a distraction," Sam groused.

"Can't have anyone come running when they hear this." Gabriel reached inside his vest and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

Dean took a step back. "Are you friggin' kidding me?"

Sam lashed out to grip the angel's arm. "You'll blow Dean up! Just use your mojo."

"This is a genuine means of executing a jailbreak."

"It's a debunked myth!"

Gabriel grinned devilishly. "But this is Hollywood, baby. They defy logic all the time."

Sam and Dean exchanged alarmed looks. What the hell were they supposed to do? Gabriel was jamming the dynamite in a chink in the wall where the bars were attached and pulling out a matchstick. Oh god, he was going to get them all killed.

Sam gestured frantically for Dean to get down in the opposite corner, and moved around to the outside of the cell to crouch next to his brother.

"Sam, no, get outside."

He shook his head firmly. If Gabriel was going to blow them up, he wasn't leaving. Dean glowered at him, which Sam pointedly ignored. He heard the match strike and smelled the smoke. There was a fizzle as Gabriel lit the fuse, and then the archangel darted across the room to take cover behind the desk.

"Fire in the hole!"

Sam threw his arms up over his head and braced himself, though it did little to prepare for the actual explosion that ripped through the room a moment later. The impact slammed into Sam, throwing him back against the wall. Pain lanced through his shoulder, but he was fairly certain the worst it had done was bruise. Bits of wood pelted him and his ears were left ringing. When he brought his arms down, cloying smoke filled his nose and throat, eliciting a bout of coughs.

"Dean!" Sam gasped, reaching through the bars for his brother.

Dean lifted his head, waving a hand to clear the smoke around his head. "I'm okay." They both turned toward the back wall where a nice chunk had been decimated.

Gabriel stood up from behind the desk, grinning. "What'd I tell you?"

Sam scrunched his face up, resisting the urge to chew out the idiotic archangel. He really hoped no one had noticed that. Maybe initial reactions would think it'd been a secondary explosion at the bank, though Sam wasn't about to admit that had been a good idea.

"Let's just get the hell out of here."

Dean carefully picked his way over chunks of wall and twisted iron to slip through the hole Gabriel had blown. They were six feet from making a clean escape when the door slammed open and the deputy stood there, gaping. Fumbling hands whipped out his pistol and aimed it at them.

"Don't move!"

Dammit!

Gabriel held up his hands. "Whoa, this ain't what it looks like." The deputy looked at them in bewilderment, and Gabriel angled his head over his shoulder at the rubble. "Okay, maybe it is…"

Sam flicked his gaze to Dean to formulate a plan. They could not allow themselves to be apprehended again. With one look, both brothers surged forward, taking the deputy by surprise. The gun went off as Sam grabbed the guy's arm and slammed it against the door frame. The pistol clattered to the floor, and Dean clocked the deputy in the head, dropping him next to it a second later. They glanced at each other. Time to get out, now.

"Hey," Gabriel spoke up indignantly. "You could've shot me."

Sam scowled before stepping outside and checking the street. It was empty. He waved at Dean to follow, and they hurried around the side of the building to where the horses were. Sam could still hear chaotic noises from a block over where the bank was, and begrudgingly appreciated the distraction. Mounting up, he winced as he landed in the saddle. God, he hoped they wouldn't have to ride far to find the portal. Though at this point he was beginning to doubt such a backdoor even existed.

Gabriel tossed a triumphant look their way before nudging his horse into action, and the three of them stole away into the night.


Gabriel led the Winchesters over wild terrain for an hour before stopping at a thick patch of woodsy area. He figured the town sheriff would be too busy to come looking for them soon, not to mention their tracks wouldn't be visible until morning. Though, their daring escape was surely worthy of a hefty bounty being put on their heads, which could attract the attention of bounty hunters and even US marshals. What could he say? The Trickster never did anything in halfsies.

Except, making a big splash hadn't been his only motivation for blowing up the bank. Conjuring that horse had actually taken effort…and left him feeling tired. Archangels did not get tired. Damn Kali and her trick. She'd caught him with his pants down and now there was no telling how much influence she had over his powers. Obviously, he could still do things, but until he was safely out of this dimension, Gabriel wasn't sure he wanted to test his limitations. Not that he was gonna admit he had any to Tweedledee and Tweedledum. So he'd scrounged up some dynamite the old-fashioned way, set the charge, and pulled off a pretty impressive jailbreak if he did say so himself.

He dismounted in a small clearing and stretched his muscles. "Good news, chaps. I'm picking up portal waves on radar, so we're headed in the right direction."

"Finally," Dean muttered as he hobbled toward a tree to sit down. Gabriel suppressed a chuckle; he should've stuck the Winchesters in an old Western sooner.

He heard Sasquatch stumble around and let out an oath as something soft—probably a toe—stubbed into something rock solid.

"Can't you conjure a flashlight or something?" Sam carped. Jeez, the kid was in a bad mood. You'd think he'd be grateful Gabriel had saved his brother, rather than being grumpy over the methods.

"Sorry, this ain't a sci-fi crossover," Gabriel said unapologetically. "Gotta stick to period consistency." He quirked his mouth in consideration though. A campfire would be nice. Roast some s'mores. But he'd have to materialize the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. Which he could do, absolutely, no problem. With a regretful sigh, Gabriel dismissed the idea. No reason to tempt fate by sending up a flare on their location anyway.

The Winchesters settled against a large tree and gradually slipped into a light sleep. Gabriel let them. Not out of any sense of kindness; he could just use some peace and quiet now that he was indefinitely stuck with the two stooges.

He watched pinpricks of stars through the canopy of leaves, and remembered a time when his existence had been nothing but light and beauty and music. When it was quiet like this, he could almost hear the euphonic chorus of angel voices, singing praise to their Father…

Gabriel quickly shoved the memories down. He didn't like to think about Heaven, about what he'd lost. There was a reason he'd skipped out. Besides, he'd been having a good run on earth…mostly. There were a few regrets. One of which had currently come back to bite him in the ass.

He sighed. Somehow, he doubted flowers and chocolate would be able to fix this situation. And by the time pre-dawn's light painted the eastern horizon in pale blues, Gabriel knew Kali was meaner with the plot twists than he was—an echo of a horse's whinny shattered the early morning tranquility as a group of riders crested a hillock in the distance.

"Up and at 'em, boys!" Gabriel bounced over and mussed Sam's hair. "We've got company."

Dean blinked wearily. "What? Who?"

"A posse by the looks of 'em."

Sam scrambled to his feet and looked out between the trees. Twelve riders were still a mile away, but closing in fast. He whirled back to Gabriel. "We should have made a quieter escape!"

"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand dismissively. Too late to change it now. Not that he figured it would've made a difference in the long run. He untangled his horse's reins from a bush and swung up into the saddle. At least the portal was within range. It was definitely time to close the curtain on this shindig.

He waited a moment for the boys to mount up as well—sheesh, when did he start caring whether they were keeping up or not? Then Gabriel kicked his horse into a trot and ventured deeper into the woods.

The large group of riders pursuing them shouldn't have been able to follow through the thicket, and they most certainly shouldn't have been able to ride around quickly enough to cut them off. But hey, this was television, and events didn't always make sense when writers tried to force a showdown. So Gabriel shouldn't have been surprised when a man leaped out from behind a tree with a yell, and Gabriel's horse reared back sharply, throwing the archangel from the saddle. He hit the ground hard enough to rattle his spine and knock the wind from his lungs, and that did surprise him.

More men swarmed out of the trees to surround them, several pairs of hands grabbing the Winchesters and dragging them off their horses. The soft thud of fists pounding flesh hit Gabriel's ears before a commanding voice rang out.

"That's enough."

The posse parted as that Dalton character rode into their midst. As far as villains went, he wasn't all that impressive.

Gabriel pushed himself up onto his elbow. "Okay, you caught us. Congratulations, we'll throw you a parade."

Dalton's lip curled up in a sneer. "You messed up this time, boys. Not even your pa can get you out of this one."

Gabriel frowned. Was that Kali's idea of a veiled metaphor? Pft, little did she know Dad didn't help his kids get out of anything.

Dalton turned his attention toward Dean, eyes flaring with hatred. "I told you I would see you hang."

Two men suddenly dragged the elder Winchester to his feet. Someone tossed a rope over a tree branch above and tied one end in a noose before slipping it over Dean's head. The other was secured to Dean's horse.

Sam surged to his feet, only to be restrained by three cowboys. "No!"

Aw, crap. Gabriel tried to get up, but found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Hm, what was the likelihood that would hurt…?

Dean struggled, but another guy wrenched his hands behind his back and tied another cord around them. "Gabriel!" he shouted in a half-threat, half-plea.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out, fellas." Gabriel rocked onto his side, intending to knock the gun out of the gangly youth's hand. Dalton dismounted and sucker punched Gabriel in the side of the head. His skull rattled painfully and a few stars burst across his vision. He reached up to hold his temple. Oh, that sucked.

"Dean!" Sam was shouting as he struggled against his captors, but they'd begun hammering him. Two hits to the stomach, and the younger Winchester was doubled over on his knees.

Dean squirmed and let out a gasp as the noose tightened around his neck.

Okay, even Gabriel had to admit this was going too far. With a burst of angelic agility, he leaped to his feet and clocked the kid with the gun, sending him flying through the air. Two guys tackled him to the ground in response, just as Dalton smacked the horse's rear, and the animal went charging away, snapping the rope taut.


A/N: Oh dear, did I really just end it there? *ducks out*