Dean and Catherine entered the darkened building, a cacophony of sound hit them like a wave. The two hunters shared a grin. Catherine moved forward enjoying the sound and smell of the casino. As Dean's hand came to rest lightly on her back, she felt herself relax for the first time in months. Throwing a smile over her shoulder, she moved, intending to make her way into the room. As she began to move, a strong arm wrapped itself around her middle, drawing her back against a solid chest.
"I'm going to find a poker game." Dean whispered, against her neck.
Catherine turned, and wrapped her arms around Dean, leaning up she kissed him, soundly. "I'm going to make us some money." Catherine let go, watching Dean walk away with a nod and a wave, she felt a sudden foreboding. She stood a minute longer, watching as Dean was swallowed up by the crowd. Finally, she shook off the feeling, and went to hit the slot machines.
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Sam awoke slowly, stretching carefully. His back was still sore and the previous hours activities hadn't helped.
"Hey, you awake?"
Sam looked toward Hannah as she moved into the room. Sam grinned, and held his arms open.
Hannah smiled, and eagerly moved toward Sam. She crawled onto the bed, and lay sprawled against Sam's warm body. "Catherine and Dean went to the Nugget; they said to meet them later if you feel like it." Hannah answered, Sam before he had a chance to ask. "Oh, and she said to tell you, the lojack is on? I can't believe Dean would install lojack in that old car, he's really paranoid."
Sam grinned to himself and answered, "Yup, paranoid describes Dean pretty well. So did you want to meet them or..." Sam leaned down, and kissed Hannah swiftly "did you want to stay here?"
Hannah grinned herself and said, "Hell, I live here, I can go to the nugget any old time." Hannah returned Sam's kiss, and smiled at the unexpected pleasure of having Sam to herself for the next couple of hours.
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Dean sat at the table watching the other players carefully; he grinned, and leaned back in his chair. All cocky confidence and attitude, he knew that his age combined with his attitude made him seem like an easy mark to the other players. That was just fine with him; he had been working the table hard for the last couple of hours. He needed to lose enough that the players around him were willing to keep playing, but, he also needed to win enough that he stayed in the game.
He was ready now, though, to make his move. The pot in front of him was around three thousand. That would last for a bit he thought to himself; he looked up with a grin as Sherry, the waitress, set another beer by his elbow. She had been shooting him looks all night, he handed her a couple chips, and shot her a look of dismissal. He watched as she frowned slightly, and moved on to one of the other players.
As the hand finished, and Dean began raking in his winnings, he smiled to himself. In the back of his mind he could hear Catherine humming 'Luck Be A Lady Tonight'. Dean grinned even broader, and stood intending to find the beautiful hunter and celebrate.
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Catherine had been on the move for the last couple of hours. She had a plastic cup full of quarter, and was randomly playing slot machines. She loved playing, and she often blocked out her gift and played simply for the fun of it.
Dean, however, was on the move and heading toward her. She knew it was time for the jackpot. Catherine blocked out all the noise and distractions around her. Focusing her thoughts on one item, the one thing she wanted most at this moment. She began moving, not really seeing the machines, just randomly moving. It was then she began to feel a pull toward the corner of the room. Aproaching the machine, she noted the progressive jackpot number scrolling on the front.
Great, she thought with a grin. The progressive machines always hit for the highest. She carefully sat on the seat, and put a couple dollars worth of quarters in. As she pulled the lever on the side of the machine, it erupted in a symphony of lights and sound. Catherine grinned, and waited for the display to show her winnings. The scrolling screne flashed the words Jackpot, her win totaled over five thousand dollars. She grinned, and whooped, beat that Dean, she thought with a smug smile.
Dean was making his way toward the slot machines when he heard one of the machines go crazy. He grinned to himself, and headed for the area where the noise was coming from. As he got closer, he couldn't see the winner standing at the heart of the surrounding crowd, but, he knew who it was. He laughed, and veered off toward the bar. Might as well have a drink, he figured, he knew from experience just how long it took the casino to settle up.
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Catherine sighed happily, as the cashier in front of her cashed out the money she had won. She swiftly added it to the meager amount in her battered wallet. She turned, intending to find Dean, when a mountain of a man stepped in front of her.
Catherine actually backed up a couple of steps in surprise. She looked up and up and up, before finally reaching the man's face. He was wearing a suit, and was obviously security for the casino. He was huge, no other way to describe him. He had to be at least as tall as Sam, but that's where the similarities ended. Where Sam was lean and sculpted, this man was a solid block. He put Catherine in mind of a pro-wrestler.
"Hi, did you need something?" Catherine asked, her most innocent smile firmly in place. She had little doubt she could talk her way out of whatever the problem was.
"Miss, I need you to step over to the security desk for a moment." The Mountain, motioned toward a hallway, above the hall was a sign reading, employees only.
Catherine was half tempted to put up a fuss, but before she could make a decision, another security guard, only slightly smaller than the first, was approaching from her other side. She nodded, and turned her smile up another notch.
As she followed behind the Mountain, she felt Tiny, move up behind her, effectively cutting off her only avenue of escape. As they approached the double doors, Catherine tamped down the panic that was beginning to rise within her.
The Mountain moved forward, and pushed the doors open. He turned, and ushered her into the hallway beyond. As Catherine moved forward she cautiously asked, "Hey, guys, what's up?"
The Mountain simply kept moving down the hallway, Tiny replied, "We just need to ask you a few questions."
Catherine felt a sudden spike of fear. She'd warned Dean not to come, after all, Casino's were one of the most video tapped places in the world. With his record, he was a marked man, as far as law enforcement went. She struggled to maintain a calm facade as she entered another set of doors marked security.
Knowing she needed to warn Dean, she began silently began humming. So focused on warning Dean, she never saw the man standing to left of the door she entered.
Not expecting the blow, she went down hard, hitting the tile floor with a groan. She tried scrambling to her feet, but was stopped by a kick to the stomach.
"The boss said, she'd be tough. What a joke."
Catherine slowly gathered herself, careful not to alert the two men.
As Tiny leaned over her, his intention to haul Cahterine to her feet, she struck. Launching to her feet, Catherine moved. Catching Tiny off balance she took advantage with a kick, hitting the man with a solid blow to the groin. Predictably, he bent over intent on protecting himself from another shot. Catherine anticipated his move, bringing her knee straight up, she heard a satisfying crunch as her knee conected with his nose. Tiny dropped like a stone.
Catherine spun, punching low, she hit the Mountain in his stomach. The big man grunted, but countered with a slap across Catherine's face. The blow, threw Catherine across the room, her back connecting with a desk.
As the Mountain approached, Catherine struggled to catch her breath. While she readied herself she took a moment to feel for Sam and Dean. Dean was on the move, for a moment, her heart pounded in panic, as she felt him coming closer. A moment later, she felt him move away, toward what she thought was the exit. Sam however, was on the move.
She cried out as the Mountain reached her side, and hit her with a kick to the ribs. Sam, she thought, as she struggled to hold onto consciousness, Sam was moving away from the nugget. He knew better than to move away from her. That left only one excuse, Sam was being taken against his will.
Finally, unable to get up, Catherine hit the floor. As she lay her cheek pressed against the cold tile floor, a voice said, "Stop, it would be better if she didn't pass out completely. I'm not sure how her power works. We need her to lead him towards us; it's the soldier we want."
The Mountain answered, his voice devoid of emotion, "Yes, Mr. Williams."
Catherine pried her eyes open, and stared up at the man above her. He was slim and short, his hair black, except at his temples where a touch of grey showed. As her gaze met his own, she saw that his eyes were consumed by black.
Looking up into the eyes of the possessed man, she forced a laugh. "You don't actually think, I'm stupid enough to lead him to you."
The Suit leaned down. "Oh, you'll call him. I'm betting on it. You may be the First and therefore unkillable, however, that leaves a lot of wiggle room." The man stood up straight, drew back a foot, and kicked Catherine in the face. "Now, call him."
Catherine felt the pain all the way to her toes; she knew though, no physical pain would equal the pain of leading Dean into a trap. Unable to respond with a comeback she simply laughed into the angry face of the demon before her.
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Dean sat at the bar nursing a beer waiting for Catherine to find him. He'd been there for little less than fifteen minutes, when he realized her song had changed. He could now hear the theme to the movie, Jaws playing over and over again.
He knew what it meant, someone was making Catherine nervous. It meant for caution on his part. Leaving his seat, he began making the rounds, trying to find Catherine.
As he closed the distance between her and him, he heard the song change. Styx's 'Renegade' was now blaring in his head, he hesitated for a moment before moving toward the Casino exit. Paused on the threshold he forced himself through the doors and out to the car.
At Catherine's insistance, they had worked out a code months ago. Being wanted by the FBI, made him a liability to both Sam and Catherine, who had clean records. He'd finally and with great reluctance agreed that he would go to ground, if there was any chance he could be caught.
He exited the casino, and headed for the Impala, he knew that Catherine would make her way back to Hannah's as soon as possible. Heart hammering, Dean hoped she was okay.
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Catherine could no longer move, not even her fingers would respond to her command. She smiled grimly to herself; she knew that Dean was no longer in the area. He had done as she expected, and headed for Hannah's.
Williams glanced down at the woman on the floor. He had noted the smile a moment ago, and found himself suddenly nervous. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, she was supposed to call the older Winchester to her, and his men would trap him and bring them both to the warehouse.
Williams made a decision. "Throw her into the car; we'll take her to the other one. She's bound to call out to him then."
Catherine felt herself hauled to her feet and dragged outside. It was then that she allowed herself to slip into the black hole that waited to consume her.