Chapter 8

The chaos that was in the hotel was one that had Angela raise her brow in a confused frown. She certainly didn't expect to see the cops roll up and there was Sam and Dean coming down the stairs only to be stopped by the cops. It became evident when Jay came running down and pointing at them, "That's them. Those are the two nut jobs that just broke into my room!"

It dawned on Angela that the boys had gone after Jay thinking he was the one that did the badass mojo. She knew it wasn't Jay but he was reaping the benefits of the mojo. She shook her head as the cops came forward and arrested them. She looked at them and they looked at her but didn't say anything. There was no point to it since the cops thought they were crazies anyway.

Angela watched as they were cuffed and taken down to the station. She turned to look at Jay and asked, "What happened?"

Jay looked at Angela and then at the two boys being taken away, "Those two nut jobs broke into my room. They said that my magic was killing people."

"Magic isn't real," Angela replied, playing the role. She wasn't going to break cover just yet since the way things went down had her thinking. "It's tricks and illusions."

"I know. I told them that but they tied me up and started talking about Hoodoo and other things," Jay replied. He thought he had landed in the crazy world. "They were talking crazy talk."

If only you really knew Jay, Angela thought to herself. She slipped into her role of being the soothing friend. She started talking and saying that he did the right thing and everything like that. She would go and see the boys later and talk to them about their little stunt that they pulled. For the moment she was being a soothing friend, "Well at least now the cops will handle it. How about I treat you, Charlie and Vernon to lunch?"

It was agreeable and Jay agreed to it and they fetched the other two. Angela decided to risk going to a place that was a little pricey but not too pricey. In other words, she wanted to make it seem like she had saved her money to have a really nice time. The three elderly magicians appreciated it and it allowed Angela to steer the conversation away from the events that happened so far.

"I must admit that you must have had a couple of months to save up for a place like this," Vernon commented.

"Well I did have some help," Angela replied as she took a sip of the iced tea. She had ordered a salad with balsamic vinaigrette. "Smith and Wesson do occasionally pay me a bonus when I get them a new trick to do. Some are quite extensive and eye openers."

"Really?" Charlie opened his eyes in surprise. "So you can perform and you develop. Talk about multitalented."

"I learned that you gotta have a backup plan in most situations," Angela replied giving a slight shrug of her shoulders while giving a slight smile. She took the moment to observe the three men while talking to them.

"And look at how well you've done," Vernon pointed out.

"So what are you doing hanging around a bunch of old farts?" Jay looked at Angela with a curious expression. "A girl like you should be hanging around younger people."

"Like that tall one you were talking to last night. Too bad he was a nut job," Vernon pointed out as he took a sip of water.

"Yeah too bad," Charlie added. "You really looked good together."

Angela listened to the conversation and felt the strain of trying not to react to the fact that she had three old men telling her how cute she looked with Sam. She also tried not to jump to an immediate defense of him either, otherwise she would have broken her cover and that was the one thing she wanted to avoid at the moment. She tapped the table with her fingertips gently and replied, "Yeah well it's a shame. I really liked him and he was a lot better than that douche bag Jeb. May God rest his soul. I guess I'm not good with younger people."

"You're a performer and we con people for a living. You're not fooling anyone," Charlie replied in a slight scolding but kind tone.

"You got a point. I guess I find that I relate better to people as a performer." She took a breath and a sip of tea. It felt good since she hadn't had the stuff in a long time. Most of the time it was water, beer and then the hard stuff; mostly it was alcohol lately. "Don't think that I'm one of those that wants to hear old people talk. I really appreciate the finer points of being a magician. It is an art form and one that takes a lifetime to master. The same could be said for the great masters of other art forms; time and dedication."

The three magicians looked at her. Angela knew that she had a tendency to be very eloquent and sound like one of those douche motivational speakers and she realized she did that but she spoke the truth. Jay was the one that said, "You've given this some thought haven't you?"

Angela gave a slight smile coupled with a chuckle. "I learned a while back that life is short and that the only way it has any meaning is to make what is important to you count. For me… just viewing it in its beauty… Well that and doing what I love to do…" She did a flourish and made the four aces appear in her hand before rubbing her hands together and making them disappear again. "So I live."

The three elderly magicians looked at her for a moment and then the conversation took a lighter tone. As they talked and ate, Angela was able to observe them. They really were just a bunch of old men that missed the glory days they had. Now it looked like someone was trying to help them find that. She could understand where they were coming from since she had been there and done that…

It was fall and that much was evident with the oak leaves falling in their shades of red, orange and yellow and occasionally one looked like it had a bit of purple in it. The outdoors was a perfect place to have a picnic and it brought some peace of mind to the three people sitting around the small tea table.

Angela took in the elderly faces, feeling very much out of place. Over the years she had watched the couple age and she didn't. It was the same thing over and over again the last couple of centuries. To them it was probably immortality but it felt like a curse as she took in the faint scars on the old woman's face on the left side and the discolored eye of the old man and his gnarly hands. Beside their chairs she recognized the means of protection that she had taught them to use.

"If the neighbors see us, they'd think that you were our granddaughter," the old man teased.

Angela gave a half smile, "But you and I know the truth."

"Well everyone has their time," the old woman replied. "We had ours and it was colorful albeit dangerous. I'm glad we got out when we did and we had Henry and he lived his life."

"And I stayed away," Angela replied, "He deserved a life away from that."

"Your choice though we're both glad that you have come around to visit us in our old age." Both of them laughed at that. The old man was able to add, "I mean we all are pretty old aren't we Angie? You, me and Ruth."

Angela laughed at that. Few were ever able to accept the fact without qualms that she was forever to look twenty-one or whatever. The Howells were the exception to that. They were both hunters who met on the job and fell in love, got married and had a kid. It was an apple pie life for them and yet they missed the times that they had hunting with her. "At least you get to show it."

"And you get to live."

Angela raised her brow at that and replied, "Ruth, living like me… I don't think it's living. I feel old but I don't look it and feel that I am out of my element." She looked at her hands at the cup of tea that looked ridiculously small in her already small hands.

"I take it you've had this feeling times before," Ruth replied.

"More than I can count and I can count pretty high," Angela said with a slight smile. "You and Mark are part of my strays that I collected, chewed and spit out and not all of them lived like you did."

"We made the choice," Mark pointed out. "We knew the risks and still went forward. To be honest careening around and chasing the things that killed people we knew were some of the best years of our lives. The only thing that tops that is Henry being born. We miss them but we don't regret the changes we've made."

"Some people do amazing things and when their time is over, they spend their time in regrets," Ruth added. She sat forward as she peered at Angela, "I hope you haven't fallen into that."

"Hard not to since I know I've caused pain to many," Angela replied as she looked at the pair.

"It's all about choices. If we have to, Mark and I will hunt again or teach a young one to do it. Sometimes getting isn't about doing things old people are supposed to do. You have to live."

"Go out with your boots on," Mark commented. "You've seen my shop. I still dabble with the next generation." He adjusted his position and continued, "I know you still feel bad that I'm blind in one eye but that was stupidity on my part. Don't be tied down with regrets. You gotta a lot to live for."

"Maybe you could tell me what it is. I keep searching for it but…" Angela didn't mean to sound mean about it and she knew that they wouldn't hold it against her. "I'm just tired. It's the job and it will do that to you."

"Maybe for you if you let it," Ruth pointed out.

"You lived with regret for too long Sass," Mark added, "I know you can't undo it and there are those things you don't want to talk about but…"

"If you are destined to do the things you do in the future, do it your way and not because someone tells you. Live and maybe you will find the light at the end of the tunnel," Ruth replied. "Don't say that you don't want to be doing this when you're old since you already are and you are still doing it. Quit because you have a very good reason to."

It was an interesting memory that popped up as Angela finished her lunch with the three magicians. The talk went to tricks and techniques and arguing over merits. It seemed to have perked up Jay a little bit but she could tell that it was not completely over. She noted the quiet look that stole over his features.

She had seen that look before. It was a cross between belief and disbelief. The person can't decide if what they heard was real or not. She didn't have the heart to tell him that what Sam and Dean had been spewing was real. She preferred to let people come to their own conclusions once they had seen it of course she could predict the two usual reactions and occasionally she was surprised and that was once in a blue moon. Well that was a constant since she hooked up with the boys.

Jay certainly felt better. The young lady that Charlie had brought into their circle seemed to know how to talk to people. He had been in show business for years and even he knew he couldn't pull off something like that. She was a natural at it and she didn't give it that pretend look; she was genuinely interested. It was almost like she had done this kind of thing before or had been doing it for a long time.

Even though she had said that they were nut jobs, Jay couldn't help but have some doubts. Through the lunch though, he had been thinking as they had been talking. He couldn't help but wonder if they really were right and that his shows were killing people. He didn't want to discuss it in front of the young lady since she was a nice one but he did have concerns. There was one person that he knew that he could talk to and that was Charlie.

As they walked out of the restaurant Jay took Angela by the hand and gave it a gentle shake, "Thank you for that. It helped."

"Anything for a friend," Angela replied and meaning it. She didn't relish the time that would come when she revealed the truth about why she was there but she was honest about her thoughts and feelings. That kind of thing you couldn't really lie about. You could hide them and bury them and pray that they were never discovered but they were real… very real.


"Nice job Sam."

"Why are you putting this on me?" Sam looked at his brother incredulously as they sat in holding. This wasn't the first time they had been put in jail nor would it be the last. It was different in that at least they didn't have a bunch of demons coming after them.

"Just because you decided…"

"Hey we are in this together."

"Shut up Sam. It's your fault so there." Dean started pacing around feeling agitated. He really didn't like being in prison. It reminded him too much of the rack especially with that sense of helplessness.

Sam rolled his eyes slightly at that. He had to admit that Jay did get the slip on him and Dean and they really should have taken into account that he could slip a knot. Hell he, Dean and Angela knew how to do that.

He suspected though that the reason Dean was upset was the fact that Angela didn't help them. He could understand her reasoning though. She was friends with them and maybe she was onto something that could make or break the case. In short she was undercover and she couldn't really say that she was with them. She was with Liam after all.

Sitting on his side of the bench in the cell he ran his hand through his hair trying to control his temper. He went out to go tail Jay when he caught sight of her and Liam walking down the hall towards the stairs. He almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing as he watched them disappear down the stairs.

He knew it wasn't any of his business to whom she had a relationship. She was friends with Austin and he was cool in Sam's book and he tolerated Nick. He did make it possible for her to get back into her body after all. Sacha he was also thankful for in making sure that she had been safe when she was on the run but Liam… It rubbed him the wrong way and worse than what Nick had.

He never conveyed his thoughts to Dean since it seemed that his brother was on her side. He reasoned that since she had lived the better part of a millennium she was bound to pick up friends along the way, both human and non-human. He met a few of them and one was from a different time period. That wasn't even counting the douches that hit on her and tried to pinch her ass.

He was trying to back down. He knew she could take care of herself and she made it clear that she had gone through and put up with that crap. Then comes along Liam and it was like he knew her inside and out. Granted that they never spoke to each other except for him telling the wolf man that she was a good person and deserved to be treated right; that was the truth. She did deserve better than the hand she was dealt.

Looking up he saw that Dean was still pacing and his attention shifted, "Dean sit down before you wear a hole in the floor."

Dean scowled at Sam, "Yeah sure because sitting is better than pacing. Damn Sam I can't believe we're stuck in here and she's out there… hobnobbing with sixty year olds." He waved his hand at the obvious direction of freedom. "That's just wrong. Makes her look like a gold digger or something."

"She's not that and you know it," Sam replied with a little heat in his voice. He could take a lot of things but anything negative about her just pissed him off. He only tolerated Dean's crap because it was Dean and she knew that he didn't mean.

"I didn't say she was."

"Yeah ya did."

"No I didn't and you know I don't mean it."

"Sure."

Dean paused and looked at his brother. He noted the stiffness and tense look of his little brother's shoulders. Something must have happened and it wasn't the fact that they both ignored her earlier. "You got a problem?"

"Yeah I got a problem," Sam replied rolling his eyes as he looked up at his brother. "My problem is with you implying that she's something other than what she is and…"

"Aww you gotta be kidding me. Sam it's nothing."

"Sure."

"I mean it Sam. Anything I say, she knows I don't mean it. We're good me and her. If I meant it, she would know it."

"I don't know Dean. I mean sometimes the things you say… You seem to forget that she's like the things we see on the job."

Dean paused a moment and looked away frowning. Yeah he was guilty of that. He just didn't see her that way. Hell he didn't see Haley that way and she was a witch. Sam and Angela both knew that he wasn't big on witches or dogs and yet he had a thing for an African Celtic witch and he liked the hell on four legs. "And I told you, she knows I don't mean her. We talked about that. Are you pissed because you think she's feeling down because we forgot she was with us?"

Sam didn't answer. He didn't have to answer since the guard said that they had a visitor. He looked and stood up to stand by Dean. They waited until their visitor came up and asked, "Are you two all right?"

Dean looked at Sam and then at their visitor and replied, "Good but damn Angie. You look… different."

Angela looked at Sam and Dean through a pair of colored contacts and adjusted the wig that matched more of Dean's hair tone with one hand while adjusting the glasses she was wearing with the other. She replied, "Amazing what you can do when you need to change your face a little."

Sam was stunned. Yeah she had used a disguise before but this made it look like she was related to them. Granted he didn't know it was her until she got close enough for him to see that it was her. Yeah the wig and the eyes and the glasses threw him off. Even her demeanor with the guard threw him off and yet he knew it was her. He couldn't explain it but he knew. He managed to say, "Yeah you look…"

"Plain and unassuming," Angela finished as she gave a slight smile. "It was by sure luck that I managed to pull off that you were my brothers. I guess he felt sorry for me."

"Felt sorry for you? What did you say?" Dean was genuinely curious about what she did. As far as he knew, Angela alluded to her disguises but was vague on them. The one time she was in disguise was when they were in Lakota and she had to have a disguise since that town remembered her as a singer and… well she was a singer. The point was even though he knew it was her, he could see how she could look drastically different.

"Name, ID," Angela explained as she opened up the pocket book she had brought. "I fed them a story about how you two were following orders from our parents by accompanying me to what Daddy calls a frivolous waste of time of a child's fascination."

"So basically you said that we're your overprotective brothers escorting you to Magic Town, USA?" Dean looked at Angela with a raised brow.

"Basic truths usually make for a better cover. Less of a lie," Angela replied as she gave a slight frown. "Though I have to admit it's been a while since I've had to do a complete change of appearance. And if you start in on the fact that I'm in a skirt, you're both dead."

It took both Sam and Dean a moment to realize that she wasn't wearing her usual set of clothes. She was wearing a nondescript plain skirt with a blouse and jean jacket. She looked like she came from the farm and the look was complete with purse and shows. The only thing that stood out was the tattoo on her hand. She was as she said: plain and unassuming. She was someone that could get lost in a crowd of people.

Dean was the first to ask, "So uh… this is what you think me and Sam want in a sister?"

Angela gave a slight frown, "Idjit. It's a cover look. Do you really think it would be a good idea for me to march in here with my usual look when almost everyone in town has seen me and hanging around with magicians and performing myself?"

Dean looked a little bit embarrassed at that as he replied, "Well when you put it like that..."

Sam gave a slight shake of his head, "Angie, what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like Sasquatch?" Angela shot back the retort as she frowned at Sam. She had seen their pent up frustrations and didn't blame them. She learned not to take it personal. "I came to check up on you."

"Thanks," Sam deadpanned. He didn't mean to sound like an ass but he was just frustrated and it was a cover for the fact that he had seen her with Liam and… "So what do you want?"

"Sam, be nice to our sister," Dean countered while giving a slight look.

"Dean."

"Okay shut up both of you," Angela replied. She wasn't going to go through this dance right now. "Look, I think it's safe to say that Jay didn't do anything but he's reaping the rewards."

"Glad to see you're on the same page," Dean shot.

"Yeah well I had that figured out before you decided he was worth pursuing," Angela shot back. "So I'm thinking it's one of the other two."

"Sixty year olds?"

"Hey, it's possible especially if they found a grimmoiré," Angela replied looking at the boys. "There are witches that use tarot to work the really hardcore stuff or not even that. It goes back to how tarot was basically a picture of the human experience, at least through the Major Arcana. The ten of swords card is the minor Arcana but still has potent influence."

"Well thanks for the lesson," Dean said feeling much better. "Does that get us closer to finding which one?"

"If you mean the mojo pickup thing, no I got nothing," Angela supplied, "But I think Jay has doubts. He might come around. I'm going to snoop around a little to see what's going on."

"Are you crazy?"

"I'm not helpless Dean," Angela countered as she looked him in the eye. "I've gone against a few witches before. I did this kind of thing solo." She looked at Sam with an intent look before looking back at Dean. "Look, maybe I can convince Jay to drop the charges but I'm not promising anything. Sit tight."

"That's all we've been doing," Dean replied as he went to go sit.

Angela sighed as she looked at Sam. He was giving her one of those looks again but it was mild. "I'm guessing that you are not liking this but being agreeable."

"Just… something else," Sam admitted. "Other stuff."

Angela nodded as she stepped closer to the bars. She was surprised that Sam stepped closer. Taking the chance she kissed his cheek and whispered, "Liam was just giving me info on that other matter." Out loud, she said, "I'll call Mom and Dad," and turned to leave.


A/N: Looks like Angie has her suspicions as she checks on her boys in jail. Sam seems to be in a myriad of emotions. Keep watching for more Do You Believe in Magic?...