"…The people of Benin, called Bini, are descended from the Ife, also known for their remarkable bronzes. Almost all Benin art was created to honor the king , or Oba,who has reigned with his ancestors from the 15th century. Although similar to many older works, these are all 20th C. pieces", Tate tells. "The plaques were mounted on the walls of the Oba's Palace and record the history of the Benin kingdom. Most depict the king or warrior chiefs".
The youngest son of Tim has a very moving way of telling the story about the exhibited pieces. The three men are now on the second floor, which covers half the ground floor. Down in the main area the guest talk, enjoy their drinks and caviar and admire the artwork in its new setting. The Hamills have showed Sam the entire gallery, but the specific statue from his vision is nowhere to be seen. Who has seen Sam though, are the several surveillance cameras, which have a clear view on each and ever corner of the gallery. If he wants to find the object he saw, it's going to be tough.
"Amazing", Sam says breathless, who is actually quite interested by the art. "I have to say, Mr. Hamill, this is astonishing".
"Please, it's Tim got friends, but yes, I am a proud man to be part of this", the owner smiles proudly and looks over at his boy. "I'll be even prouder when Tate takes over".
Sam looks over as Tate's father pads him on the shoulder, clearly meaning his words.
"Are you retiring then?", Sam presumes.
The two generations exchange a look and Tate bites his lip. Mr. Hamill on the other hand gives Sam a polite nod.
"You could say that, yes", he replies.
He puts his hands on Tate's shoulders again, just to let him know he's there.
"But I consider myself lucky with this big guy. No doubt on my mind that he'll run the Gallery well. This place will live on and so will I", Tim speaks wisely and grateful.

From those words Sam indicates that Mr. Hamill is dying and he's unpleasantly surprised by it. Real subtle, Sam! Good job! Just like Zoë, Sam has trouble finding a way to express himself. Tim is such an positive man, he seems perfectly happy. Who would have guessed that he doesn't have that long to live? Stupid stupid stupid! 'Are you retiring then?' Who says that! Sam turns his head ashamed. Mr. Hamill detects he's not at ease and decides to turn the tables when he walks over to the banister and looks down on his guests.
"You can consider yourselflucky too with a woman like Cindy by your side", he nods at the young woman in the center of the main area, who's still talking to his wife and his other son.
The band, which was playing a blues medley up till now, now performs the song of Africa, originally from Toto. Sam halts next to him and scans the crowd, but his gaze freezes on his beautiful colleague. He smiles, if this little act was reality, he would consider himself as the luckiest man on earth. Apparently Zoë feels his eyes burning in her back, because she glances up and smiles when their eyes meet. Sam smiles back, what a sight.
"I sure am", he admits.
"I have to say, and I have an eye for this…", Mr. Hamill rests one arm on the marble rail and looks back at Sam. "You two are a match made in heaven, it's so delightful to see. It gives hope, know what I mean?"
Sam chuckles sigh, how ironical is that if you consider that they are actually hunters who most of the time argue and try to avoid each other.
"Where did you two meet?", Tim asks curious.
Sam flinches. Ohow… That's about the one thing they haven't discussed. He has to make up a story quick. He decides to go for the truth, how dangerous that might be.
"On a hunting trip, actually", Sam scratches his head while grinning.

"Really? A woman on a hunting trip. You better lock her up in your basement then, those come rare", the owner of the gallery jokes.
"Why do you think I proposed?", Sam smirks, getting more comfortable in his role as Jake Fogerty.
"I see where you're coming from", Tim laughs and leans over a little closer. "Was she any good?"
"Like you wouldn't believe", Sam smiles, finding it funny how much truth there actually is to those words.
His eyes lock on Zoë again, he's unable to turn away. He feels a warmth inside of him when he sees her that he knows. He experienced it before, when he laid his eyes on Jessica. It scares him, yet he can't prevent it from happening.
"I know that look", Tim states, who was observing Sam. "It's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Love".
A bit startled Sam glances aside at the old man, but recovers quickly. Is that what this is? Love? Again he looks down at Zoë, right as the band covers Lady In Red by Chris de Burgh. Her brown eyes sparkle and she gestures him to come down, probably to give him an update.
"Excuse me, Tim, Tate", Sam turns away from the banister and faces them. "But I can't let this moment go by without a dance with the woman who this song was written for".
"We won't stop you", Tim Hamill smiles amused.
"We'll talk about those Benin pieces", Sam smiles and greets them with a nod.
As he walks down the stairs, the deep voice of the vocalist sounds trough the gallery. He lets his hand glide down the railing and doesn't let go of her sight.

I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright

He sets his foot on the first floor and levels with her. She approaches him in that beautiful dress of hers, graceful, as if she isn't even touching the marble underneath her high stilettos.

I have never seen that dress you're wearing
Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes
I have been blind

They halt before one and other and look deep in each other's eyes, before Sam speaks.
"May I have this dance?", he questions.
She smiles, because of his genuine way of asking and nods. "You may".
He takes her hand and lets his other glide down back until it's on the right place. Slowly they sway around on the rhythm of the song as other couples also start to form around them. Zoë has to look up for their eyes meet again, Sam smiles tensed but satisfied.
"Relax", she whispers. "It's just dancing".
Maybe it is to her, but this is the first time he's so close to her. This feels like so much more. His blood is being pumped around faster through his body and he's afraid that Zoë might feel his heartbeat when she comes closer when she affectionately lays her head against his chest.

The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek
There's nobody here, it's just you and me, it's where I wanna be
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I'll never forget the way you look tonight

"Did you find your statue upstairs?", Zoë asks with a soft tone, so that others around her can't hear what they are talking about.
Sam snaps out of his moment. Right, there on a mission here. He's not dancing with this girl because she wants to, but because they need to pull of this act to get what they want.
"No, but I saw a storage place in the back at the second floor", he informs, resting his cheek against her head.
"We need to check it out", she states.
"How? There's cameras everywhere", Sam brings to mind.
"Workin' on it, give me a sec".
She creates a little distance, just enough to look him straight in the eye, but still close. Their lips almost touch.
"I think I found someone with a good motive", she whispers.
Sam swallows, but keeps slow dancing. He could kiss her, but that would be weird. A married couple wouldn't even do that. Than why does he want to? This is getting all way too confusing, he must not give in. It will only make things complicated, love always does. But then again the big question, is that what this is?
He tries to shake of the feeling. "Oh yeah? Who?"
"Tate is gonna take over the gallery when Tim bites the dust, which is a bit unusual, considering Michael is the oldest son", Zoë answers.
"He's the black sheep of the family, isn't he", Sam noticed.
"Not just that, he's scary too", she comments as a chill runs down her spine. "We need to be careful, I almost had the feeling like he was on to us".
"Worked out an idea yet then?", Sam questions after a short silence.
She looks deep into his eyes, sensual and seducing. Slowly she comes closer to whisper something in his ear.
"I have a mind blowing idea for you".

A bit perplexed Sam looks her in her eyes. He's not quite sure if those words are for real or also part of the act. He guess the last option, but doesn't have time to be sure, because a moment later Zoë presses a short but hypnotizing kiss on his lips. Star struck he opens his eyes, longing for more. As if she can read his mind - what actually wouldn't surprise him with all her powers and abilities – Zoë takes his hand and expects him follow her. Of course this is just a way to get to the bottom of this, it must be. But Zo's way of getting what they want is probably one he won't mind. The band bridges over to a new song, which Sam soon recognizes as a song called Can't Stop This Thing We Started, originally by Bryan Adams. He's afraid that's exactly the case, he's unable to stop, to turn away and resist her. This is bad, Sam! Really bad! Whatever will happen, is he ready? Can he handle this without feeling extremely guilty opposite to Jessica? He doesn't know, but as Zoë leads him upstairs to the storage room, he's quite sure he's about to find out. Screw this. He's not going to fight it anymore. As soon as they are out of sight from the guests, she pulls him inside of the storage room. Sam surrenders immediately en presses his lips on hers. To hell with Jake Fogerty, he's back to Sam Winchester and if anyone asks, he's not making out with Cindy either, but with Zoë Sullivan and no one else. His hands cup her face while she answers him without hesitation. As they affectionately kiss, he presses Zo against the wall, but she doesn't care that he's a little reckless. In fact, she likes it. The youngest Winchester is anything but insecure right now and he gives himself to her, every bit of it. It surprised her how aggressive he is, it's a side she didn't expect him to have. Playing along with the game, which she's getting lost in, she runs her hands through his long dark hair and loosens his bow tie. Damn, there's a good body underneath that suit! Of course they are here for a reason, but what's wrong with a little fun with a hot hunter like Sam during the job. She wants to explore him, feel him, but is it fair for Sam, who's still dealing with his girlfriend's death? Oh what the hell, it's not like he's protesting or anything. And so the Oscar De La Renta suit ends up on the floor while Sam struggles with her dress. For a second Zoë opens her eyes. At the end of the storage room, in the shadow of the dim light between several other objects, an eerie looking statue is lurking at them. Without stopping with Sam, she pushes herself of the wall, turns – still clinching to her date – and pins him against the wall so that they switch positions.

"Is that your friend over there?", Zoë questions between placing kisses in his neck as her hand glides down to his belt.
Sam looks over and sees the statue. Right, case. They are working a case. My God, he's so distracted and turned on that he can't even concentrate. So this is why Dean is always so absent. He's sure about one thing though, that's the statue from his vision.
"Jackpot", Sam comments.
Zoë responds, but not only to the discovery of the piece of art they were looking for. "You can say that again".
"Work with me", Sam whispers.
He forces her lower body closer to his as his hands findtheir way up her fine legs, turning up her red dress. In the meantime, Zoë has no trouble unbuckling his belt. Right before she can unzip his trousers, he lifts her up. Not sure what he's up to, but going along, she crosses her arms behind his head and folds her legs around Sam's body. As they bodies rub against each other as the tall Winchester carries her further back, Zoë can feel his excitement. Eventually he sets her down on the glass case, which the statue is exhibited on and kisses her neck. One hand moves to his pocket and he takes out his Blackberry phone. As he kisses her shoulders, he takes a few quick pictures, unable for the surveillance cameras to see. Then he puts the device back in his pocket; he doesn't even bother to check to shots.
"I'm done", Sam lets her know with soft voice.
"With your phone or with me?", she questions challenging.
For a second their lips don't touch, they just look each other in the eye. It's an invitation for more, one that Sam is going to accept. Without thinking long, he passionately kisses her again. Zoë doesn't mind at all. What was the last time since she had sex? Too long ago, she can't even remember, it must be at least two months. To be honest, after facing those hellhounds, she never really expected to ever make love to someone again. That it's a cute guy like Sam is a big plus. Now she does get the chance to unzip his trousers as Zoë pulls him closer, but whatever they were heading against, it's interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Someone in there?", a deep voice sounds.
Startled Sam turns around and Zoë pulls down her dress. Two men step inside the storage room and one switches on the light, giving Sam and Zoë just enough time to separate from each other. Busted they stare into the faces of a night guard and Tim Hamill.
"Cindy, Jake?", he says surprised.
"Oh, we ehm…", Zoë tries to find an excuse for their behavior. "We were just…"
"…admiring the fine art you have back here, Tim", Sam fills in when he sees he struggling.
Tim glances from on to the other while a smirk appears on his face.
"It's okay George, you can go now", he tells the guard.
When the tall Afro-American is gone, he turns back to the couple.
"I'm not dumb. I know what you two were doing back here", he acknowledges.
"You do?", Sam gulps nervously.
He laughs. "Believe it or not, but I was young once too".
Pfew. If that's all the damage for this night, they're good. Sam feels a blush appearing on his cheeks though, this is kind of embarrassing.
"We ehm, we're sorry, Mr. Hamill", Sam apologizes as they walk back to the entrance of the back room.
"No worries", the old man smiles. "But I would take a look at that zipper before you get back to the ground floor".
"Zipper?", Sam repeats puzzled as Tim walks away.
Zoë clears her throat amused and glances down at Sam's pants, after which she chuckles and follows Tim. It's just now that Sam notices that his zipper is still opened and he closes it cursing. Quickly he picks up his expensive jacket and runs after her.

"Not funny", he spits when he catches up with Zoë again.
"Kiddin', right?", she grins.
He glares at her and halts at the top of the staircase, but then follows slightly pissed off. Without discussing it first, she takes her phone out of her purse and calls the limo service, apparently she wants to head off. Now that they are amongst others again, they must keep their performance up. Zoë takes the lead and blends in with the Hamills.
"This opening has been delightful, but Jake and I are about to go", she informs the family.
"Oh, that's a shame", Bobbi responds as Sam accompanies his date.
"Yeah well, Cindy here had one glass of champagne too much, haven't you, honey?", he comments, trying to get back on her.
But Zoë doesn't react like he hopes, she actually confirms. "I'm afraid he's right, a light weight like me doesn't need much".
"It was great having you", Tate says as he shakes Jakes hand.
"Thanks for having us. I'll call about those statues later this week", Sam promises.
"… and about funding this inspirational place, of course", Zoë adds up.
Sam looks aside a bit surprised, did he miss something? Apparently Zoë had her own little chat with Bobbi.
"That's great news", Michael states.
He's right behind Sam, it's strange that he didn't see him coming. Yet the conversation with the other family members draws his attention again.
"Have a safe trip home", Tim shakes their hands.
"You take care", Sam says, knowing it might be the last time he sees the man again.
He takes Zoë's hand and escorts her outside. It's raining, but the doorman has an umbrella waiting for them to find shelter under as they walk over to the curb where the black Lincoln is parked. Zoë gets in first followed by Sam. As soon as he closes the door, the car blends into the traffic of downtown Boston.

"Well, show me", Zoë waits for him curious.
"What?", Sam looks aside confused.
"The shots", she specifies.
"Oh right".
He takes out his Blackberry phone and scrolls through the menu until he reaches 'media' and clicks it. Under the folder 'my images' the pictures of the statue show.
"Good job", Zoë smiles satisfied. "Now we need to find out what this thing is, what it means".
He nods and puts the phone away. He doesn't look at the beautiful woman besides him, but glances outside as drops struggle sideways down the tanned window. Outside the nightlife of Boston shoots by, as if they are traveling through time. Some look up, follow the limousine with their eyes, but Sam doesn't care for them. What the hell just happened? He's not sure. Was it work? Was it real? Stupid enough, now that he gave in to his true feelings, he has even more questions than before. He glances aside and finds Zoë staring outside the opposite window. Just as on their trip over she seems confident and without worries. Yet so much changed and Sam isn't sure in what way. Several minutes later he gets out in front of the Midtown Hotel on 220 Huntington Avenue. He offers Zo his hand, but she ignores him and gets out by herself. The archway in front of the hotel prevents them from getting wet through. They make their way to their room and as soon as the door closes behind them, the whole illusion of the wealthy world they pretended to live in falls down like a curtain at the end of a play. Without speaking to each other, Zoë takes the clams out of her hair so that it falls down on her shoulders, then walks over to her Macbook and turns up some music. The tune from Pretending by Eric Clapton sounds trough the room and she takes out her earrings. Sam on the other hand just stands there. It takes a moment before Zo realizes something's off, but when she turns around – still trying to get the pearls out of her left ear – she detects his blue mood.
"What's up?", she asks, not suspecting anything.

Sam isn't really sure how to bring it to her, he's too confused by her way of acting around him. The chance of personality puzzles him.
"What… what just happened?", he asks upfront.
"We did our job", Zoë gives her opinion after a short silence. "And we're gonna continue doing it by finding out what this statue means".
"Yeah, I know… but I mean…", he looks up into her eyes for the first time since they entered the room.
He doesn't have to finish his sentence though, Zoë knows where he's heading. Of course more happened than just them being undercover, but does she want to admit to that? Probably not, it's just gonna make things awkward. So she decides it's best to ignore it happened, or at least that it meant anything.
"We had a little fun, so what? We need to be professional in this, Sam. We went there to get this case going", she tries to bring to him.
Ouch, that hurts. Sam responds quickly though, he doesn't want to let Zoë know that he actually cared.
"Sure, of course I know. I just wanted to make sure that you feel the same way", he replies.
"So, we're good?", Zoë checks.
"Yeah, we're good", Sam shows a fake smile and unties his bow tie.
Not completely sure if he is, Zoë lets her gaze follow him inside the bathroom for a second, but then decides to let it go. As she turns up the music a little, she settles on a chair behind the desk and opens her internet browser on her laptop. She doesn't bother to take her cloths off yet, she'll wait until Sam is done in the bathroom and take a quick shower. Until that time, she'll try to find out more about the African statue. She's just about to type in a search name on Google, when she hears a glass breaking in the bathroom. Alert she turns her head to face a closed bathroom door.
"Sam?"
Surprised she turns down the volume and hears disturbing sounds from the closed area. She gets up and rushes to the door.
"Sam? What's going on in there?", she asks loud.

When she's just about to lay her hand on the doorknob, it locks. Stunned she stares at it for a short moment before she realizes what's going on. A spirit, a ghost, a poltergeist. Whatever it is, it's bad.
"SAM! Answer me!", she shouts.
But no response, just the sound of him choking. Zoë doesn't hesitate for a moment, creates a bit of distance and kicks in the door. As it slams out of the hangings, she finds Sam on the ground with both his hand around his neck. There's no ghost to be seen, the lights aren't even flickering, but something is definitely going on. Hastily she kneels down next to him as Sam tries to talk, but he's unable to.
"Hey hey, calm down, Sam. Let me look", she tries to comfort as she pulls his hands away.
Gasping for air but unable to get any oxygen in his lungs he lets her observe his condition, but Zoë isn't ready for what she sees. The imprint of a rope tied around his neck is visible, so tight that Sam is unable to breath, but there isn't actually a rope there. This isn't medical, it's supernatural.
"Holy crap…", she whispers.
"Zoë, I can't breathe!"
The words aren't coming from Sam's mouth, but reverberate through her mind. Stunned she looks him in the eye, not sure what to do for a moment. It's the same phenomenon they experienced back in Paragould, telepathy would be the best way to describe it, but it isn't helping them.
"HELP ME, ZO!"
"Stay calm, Sam. Give me one sec", she assures and gets up.
As Sam struggles for air on the cold tiles of the bathroom, Zoë hastens to the kitchen and takes out a sharp knife and quickly takes a pen from her purse. While running back to the bathroom she unscrews the pen until only the plastic shell is left. Sam's face is already turning unhealthy pale as he struggles to stay conscious, she needs to hurry. Quickly she falls down on her knees and takes the knife in her right hand.
"Stay with me, Sam! Don't you go anywhere", she warns as he closes his eyes.
Zoë has to work fast now if she wants to keep him alive. Nervous, but without doubt she makes a small incision in his windpipe and pushes the pen shell into his throat to act as an breathing tube. As soon as Sam has an air hole below the rope marks, he gasps for air. Relieved Zoë sighs and supports his head. Well look at that, it worked!

"Shhh… Calm down. It's alright now, just stay still", she whispers, cupping his face in one hand.
But Sam has been cut off from air for a long time, he can't keep his eyes open. Zoë tries desperately to keep him awake.
"Stay with me, Sam. Hang in there", she taps him in the face and checks his pulse. "SAM!"
While one side of her is screaming at her to panic, the other side stays calm and acts up. Not giving up she reaches for her purse, which she dropped on the bathroom floor. Still shaking from shock she takes out her Nokia and dials three numbers.
"9-1-1. What's your emergency?"
"I need an ambulance at the Midtown Hotel, 220 Huntington Avenue, room 306. Patient has trouble breathing, not responding, low pulse", she pauses trying to keep him to breathe. "Come on, Sam!"
"Okay, emergency personnel is going to be there as soon as possible".
Zoë stares at the young Winchester, his eyes closed, as life slips away from him. He needs medical help immediately, otherwise he's going to die. Crap crap CRAP! Why the hell is this happening to him? What the hell is going on?
"Hurry it up!", she cries out desperately into the phone and disconnects.
Worried and shaking of tension, she taps the blood from his neck. His chest is still rising and falling, but the imprint remains in his neck and she knows he won't be able to breathe without the tube in his throat. With her two fingers on his wrist she checks his pulse, but she knows it isn't good.
"Come on, Sam. Don't do this. Dean's gonna kill me for sure if anything happens to you", she shivers.
What on earth could this be? It's not an ordinary ghost, there are no signs of spirit manifestations what so ever. Witchcraft? Black magic? It could be a possibility, but she's too afraid to leave Sam's side to search for a hex bag. Carefully she searches his pockets and takes out his phone, but finds something else as well. When she withdrawals her hand, she holds a small leather bag. Curious she opens it and finds all sorts of ingredients. Herbs, bones, hair, but also a small bit of rope. Zoë swallows apprehensively when she notices that the imprint in Sam's neck and the patron of the rope are similar. This is no ordinary ghost case or witchcraft, this is far worse. This is African's darkest magic, it's voodoo.