Notes: WAH! Your reviews make me so happy guys XD and the choice of Dick was very much intentional for my future story lines….where I may or may not be planning a firefly season 2 (that awkward moment between end of series and movie)…..In fact there have been quite a few hints here and there as to where I'm going with all of this. I wonder if any of you have noticed! But don't you worry! I am staying true to firefly! XD
Disclaimer: I don't own anything here! If I did then Firefly would still be happening, and it would totally have a crossover episode with Supernatural!
CHAPTER 6
Castiel's ears hurt. They hurt just as bad as the time that Gabriel had tried to learn the recorder when they were younger. Castiel wished that he and Balthazar could bury Meg in the back yard like they did with the horrible instrument. She had been arguing with the remaining crew for the better part of an hour. For some reason she believed Dean and Sam were not coming back and that the crew should listen to her now. Castiel laughed to himself, as if Dean would leave his beloved ship to her.
"Just get your ass back up to the bridge and start flying us to the rendezvous point!" Meg shouted at Gabriel who was pacing back and forth where the remaining crew had gathered in the hold.
"We are at the rendezvous point. For meeting up with Sam and Dean," he retorted angrily.
Meg moved right up into his face and practically growled back, "Are you challenged? Did the Garrison scramble your brains too? Dick's people are waiting for us and I don't think they will like to be kept waiting." The sound of her voice was particularly grating on Castiel's ears. He leaned into Balthazar's shoulder who had been standing next to him. It was warm there. Off to the side of him he heard Chuck squeak and Anna suck in a deep breath. They seemed quite anxious.
And Bobby's face had been getting redder and redder as Meg went on, it made Castiel wonder if he was still breathing properly. He had heard that it was healthy for people to breathe normally.
"Let them read a gorramn magazine then! We ain't leaving those boys there to fend for themselves! They'll get their package when we get our people." Bobby didn't look like he would ever cave to Meg's demands. From his perch on his brother's shoulder Castiel smiled at the preacher's strength.
"They are stone cold killers Sheppard! Not all cute and cuddly like me!" She said back smiling condescendingly. Balthazar started whispering in his little brother's ears about all the different ways he could remove the smirk from her face. Castiel couldn't help but giggle at the image of his brother's suggestion of itching powder. It seemed to have caught her attention as she whirled on the two of them.
"Shut up or I'll smash your plant!" As if she could get near that plant, thought Castel darkly, but he didn't make another noise.
"Leave him alone Meg. You touch his plant and you'll wake up with only two limbs, and I won't tell you which ones. And we are not leaving without Sam and the Captain." Gabriel was turning the same shade of red as Bobby, Castiel checked Balthazar quickly to see if it was spreading. Looks like the color's spread hadn't reached him yet. It had seemed to have reached Chuck as he looked like an awkward cherry, but Castiel was pretty sure he wasn't breathing at all. He and Gabriel didn't need to worry so much, though.
"Sam will be perfectly safe Gabriel. Dean is with him." Why did everyone stop and stare at him whenever he spoke? Meg seemed to be pleased though.
"See? Even Crazy Cakes over there agrees with me. Now let's go!"
Bobby wasn't impressed, "Gabriel. Are we going to have to worry about the Garrison coming to find their stolen goods?"
Gabriel looked unsure, glancing between his brothers and Bobby. This is where they lacked information. "Because Prissy Pants over here left them behind before gathering more information, we don't know if the feds noticed that we took the original box to begin with. They could just be slapping Sam and Dean on the wrists for being in the cargo cabin. But if we stick here in this canyon, then we will be able to see any ships coming our way." He let that sink in with everyone for a moment.
"But they'll never stop."
They all stared at Castiel again.
"They will keep coming until they get back what you took." He laughs softly to himself. He feels a little light-headed, his shoulders twitch painfully and he giggles louder.
"Three by three, they will find me." Everyone was quiet and looking around, and Castiel felt Balthazar's arm wrap around his shoulders and pull tight. He and Gabriel looked haunted.
Meg's voice cut through with all the grace of a rhino ballerina. "Hey, how about you two keep your whack job's mouth shut?" To Castiel, "Does that sound like a fun game to you?" He just glared back at her with fire in his eyes. "Now listen close, all of you saps. You don't mess around with Dick."
Anna peered at Meg and smirked, "What's the matter, Meg? Are you scared of Dick?" She asked innocently.
"I'm scared of Dick," said Chuck softly. Meg ignored them both.
"Wait, are you talking about Dick Roman?" The feisty brunette gave the preacher a more searching gaze.
"How is it a respectable Preacher like you knows a name like Dick Roman?"
"Ain't ever said I was respectable. But I know enough of the man to guess that if Dean is not present when delivering the goods, questions will be asked. Maybe it's better if we arrive a little late." He raised his eyebrows knowingly. He had a point.
Anna, ever the diplomat, stepped forward between the steaming Meg and reddened Bobby.
"We wait for half an hour. If we don't hear from the brothers by then, we bring the box to the meeting point." Nobody argued further, even if Meg looked like she might have an aneurysm, and spread out to hopefully cool off a bit. Castiel went to go hide his plant somewhere safe.
Sam and Dean sit stiffly next to each other looking around at the sick families. There were mothers holding sick babies, young children supporting their younger siblings, fathers looking like they might collapse at any moment.
"This is a nightmare, Dean."
"They haven't pointed to us for anything yet."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, look around." And Dean did, for the thousandth time. The depressing scene was a constant reminder of their crime. They had stolen the medicine, only to replace it with a poison. What kind of monsters would do something like that. What kind of monster had he become?
"Whatever happens Sammy, remember you're my brother and I'll always love you."
"What?" Sam was truly shocked at his brother's sudden confession.
"Because you're my brother and the sheriff is coming our way."
"Oh, yeah, right….Bro."
And the sheriff was starting to walk towards them. His face was drawn with harsh lines and looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. He probably hadn't. Dean's guilt went up a few more notches.
"Hello boys, Car 3, row 13, seats A and B." He was looking at each brother with searching eyes, eyes roaming over them looking for possible threats. Dean recognized the look, he did it often enough himself with every new person he ever met.
"Hi, I'm Tom and this is my brother Jerry. Can you tell us what's going on? We've been here so long, did…did someone on the train get killed?" Dean lowered his voice near the end, like he was really concerned there might be a murderer among them. It had the desired effect, and the Sheriff laughed and shook his head.
"There is nothing for you to worry about sirs. Everything is being handled. Now I see that your tickets were bought by a third party?" His eyes darted between Dean and Sam, ready to search for any inconsistency. Dean had to respect this guy's thoroughness and ability to dodge the question. The brothers would have to be careful with this guy.
"Yes, our uncle. It was a gift."
The sheriff looked confused and even a little amused at this. "A gift? You came for a vacation in Paradisio?" He half snorted, Dean almost took offense, but Sam cut in.
"Actually, we are here looking for work."
This time the sheriff snorted loudly, "Really?"
Sam started to feed him the rest of the back-story that Dick had provided with the tickets. "Our uncle said he knew a Joey Biggs out here. He said that he might have some work for us. Thought we would try our luck."
"Either of you miners by trade?" Both brothers shook their heads in the negative. "Never met anyone who would choose this job if they weren't born to it." This guy was good, thought Dean. He was really searching, and if they weren't careful, he might find something.
"Um, well, um Tom and I have been out of work for too long. We have been getting pretty desperate. Um, can you tell us why there are so many sick people here?" Sam was being smart and changing topics, but Dean really didn't want to hear this.
The sheriff let out a heavy breath and leaned back. His weariness was rolling off him in waves. "Bourne Bowden's Malady. You two boys know what that is?"
Sam, ever the scholar, answered quickly. "It's an affliction of the bone and muscle. Degenerative."
"Yup, very much so. See every planet that has been terraformed by the Garrison has its own little quirks. As it turns out, the air down underground, mixed with the ore from the mines…perfect recipe for Bowden's. Everyone gets it. It's worst on the kids though. Little systems can't handle it."
"But it is treatable," Sam insisted.
"There is a medicine that works on the symptoms, but you have to take it regularly. The last batch ran a bit late because it took the Garrison a little longer than usual to deliver." He sounded a little more than just bitter at this. "We were worried that the medicine was stolen off the train today during the incident with the smoke bombs, but everything seems to be in order. But we want to be sure that everything is sorted before we dish out the meds. Can't risk hurting the kids."
Dean feigned shock, "Didn't we see a whole squad of fine Garrison soldiers on the train? Surely they were keeping an eye on the medicine."
"Apparently they didn't see much." Dean could work with this. Maybe it wasn't too late to cast some doubt in this guys head.
"Is it possible that the medicine was tampered with? That would be horrible if people became even more sick!" Sam seemed to be catching on to what Dean was doing.
"I'm sure that once the Garrison hears about the incident they will send the next batch of meds right away. Better to wait than risk the kids health even more," Sam followed up to Dean's comments. Dean warmed at the thought of how Sam could follow his train of thought without any effort.
Their interrogator seemed a little taken back by the worry from the boys. "Yes, I'm sure that the very Garrison that let criminals get by them and into the cargo cabin and near said medicine will rush right on back to the core planets to get us a new shipment right away." He sounded less than confident in this statement.
"Yeah, that sounds like the Garrison. Unite the planets under one rule so that everyone can be interfered with or ignored equally," Dean almost growled out.
"Garrison might not be much use to us border boys, but they weren't the ones who caused this…incident in the first place. If we find the people who messed up this delivery I'll throw them I the mines and let them breath deep for the rest of their lives."
Sam swallowed hard, "Can't argue with that."
"So do boys mind telling me when it was your uncle last spoke to Joey Biggs?"
Sam and Dean looked at each other startled. They sensed a trap.
"Ah, he didn't say for sure."
"So your uncle never mentioned the Bowden's problem or the fact that Biggs blew out the back of his own head about eight months ago?" Sam and Dean quickly put on surprised/sympathetic faces. Dean leaned forward towards the sheriff with a very straight face. He needed to play this part right. He was a desperate man.
"So…would Bigg's job be open?"
He was offered a wan smile from the sheriff at this. This interview was over. Sam and Dean could relax, but the guilt was eating away like acid in their stomachs. They didn't even need to say it out loud to each other. They had to fix this.
Ha ha! "You don't mess around with Dick" words to live by XD