Chapter 10

2001, Bangladesh

The market was bustling with people selling their wares and people were chatting. And yet Angela could sense the tension in the air. She had picked up a paper and read it and noted the current political climate of the country. It was the typical response to the situation with the existing government denying that anything was wrong and yet out on the streets, you got a clear picture of what was really going on. The ambassador was right in making sure precautions were taken and she was glad that she had insisted on a few things.

It wasn't that she didn't trust the Centurion to do their job. They had been doing it long before she came into the picture. The Seer's ancestor created them. It was just that she suspected they wouldn't stoop to doing what needed to be to make sure that their charges were taken care of. They would be a by the book bunch and she believed that you needed to live a little room for adaptation and she suspected she was going to need it with this little snit.

Angela didn't have a low opinion of Raylene. She felt bad for the girl since she lost her mother at a young age and her father was doing his best to raise her and do his job. She just thought that the girl could use a little discipline. Angela wasn't even against spanking. Hell, she would give a slap if it did the trick. And it seemed that Raylene needed it just to be not so bitchy.

"You stick out like a sore thumb wearing that."

Angela glanced at Raylene with a bland expression. She knew that she looked out of place wearing her suit and probably going to make herself miserable with the heat and humidity but she rather liked the suit that had been made as a gift and it made fairly clear that she was not like the person she was protecting. Maybe it was fitting with her station but she kind of wanted to teach a point to Raylene too. She just had a certain way of doing things and it wasn't always the conventional way.

Looking at the girl, she noticed how she tried to still be defiant but she looked intimidated by the expression she was receiving. Angela liked that and she was fairly certain that the girl was just trying to be the one that wasn't the crying type or to hide that emotional part as a means of protection from the outside world. She kept her bland expression and replied, "It's a suit."

"I know that but… you stick out. The last one went local."

"Meaning to blend in with the populace. Pretty much typical." Angela looked up to survey their surroundings. "However it doesn't quite help when you try to spot your enemies."

Raylene shook her head thinking her new guard was insane. "So you're putting me at risk then? Why did my father ask for you?"

Angela heard the girl but she was paying attention to the area around her. She spotted the difference between the locals and the rebels. She held up her phone and said, "Jabari, noticed anything?"

Raylene rolled her eyes thinking that Angela was taking her job way too seriously and figured she was going to be one of those that restricted her freedom. At least she wasn't like the last female guard that tried to be her friend. That was awful and mostly because the woman was too cheerful. So she retaliated by being a pain in the ass and it worked. She decided to try it now and started moving away and towards one of the vendors that she visited frequently.

Angela was well aware of what Raylene was doing and had shifted slightly to keep an eye on her while she conversed with Jabari. She was also watching the ones who were taking an interest in her. She knew it was a risk using the girl as bait like she was but when she spoke to the ambassador and learned what the rebels were up to…

She didn't bat an eye as she got the report from Jabari and lowered her phone. She walked almost nonchalantly but it hid her tense posture and her capabilities as she as caught up with Raylene who was trying to buy food from one of the vendors. It was a treat in that part of the world and her nose twitched at the smell. She eased up and shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation.

Raylene could speak the language fairly well but she only used it to make herself understood when she wanted something. She didn't concern herself with the local customs of the people and now it was coming to bite her in the rear. Angela felt her lip twitch in a smirk as it reminded her of another person who was the same way. It seemed that it was fate that she would find people that were basically the same in terms of how they interacted with others and their personality. Or it could be a gift and a curse as other things in her life tended to aim towards.

Raylene was getting frustrated since the vendor was an old woman and in Angela's opinion when you reached a certain age, it entitled you to be however you wanted. And that she thought tongue in cheek and for good reason. She finally decided to intervene and help the girl out and started speaking to the old woman in perfect Bengalese and smiling at her. She managed to convey what Raylene wanted and the old woman was agreeable and handed what Raylene was after over. After the girl paid, the old woman said something to Angela and they shared a laugh.

"What are you talking about?"

Angela looked at her charge. The slightest hint of a smile ghosted on her face as she looked at the girl. She didn't have to look at the old woman to know that she was chuckling at the whole scene. She replied, "Just the fact that you know the language but you still know nothing."

Raylene glared at Angela. It would have been easy to pout about it but that would just make her look childish. "And what do you know? For all I know you could be just pretending to know." It sounded ridiculous.

Angela looked at the girl. "I know plenty, girl. You'd be surprised at what I know."

"Please. Your kind don't last that long."

"So you know I'm a dhampir."

It had been uttered more as a statement of fact rather than something one would be surprised with. Raylene looked up at the woman and was a bit intimidated by the fact that she wasn't perturbed about being called out about that. The last one was. It had Raylene intrigued by the whole thing and she countered with, "It's not that hard. You look all human but you still have that other part. And I saw you when you spoke with Dad."

Angela said nothing but made a slight hum and a look that gave the impression that she was impressed. She started walking since they shouldn't linger and she didn't wait to see if the girl would follow. It was her choice after all and while she was to protect the girl, she wasn't going to hold her hand. She made that quite clear to her father.

Raylene blinked in shock as her bodyguard started walking without waiting for her. She didn't understand this woman and yet she was intrigued by her. She trotted to keep up and she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Walking."

"I know that but what are you doing?"

Angela didn't look at the girl but continued to walk. She had picked up their tail and she wanted to be away from areas that would cause a scene. "Walking," she repeated, "to a different place."

Raylene looked at her guard like she was crazy. The direction they were heading in looked isolated. She didn't like it really and she wondered once again why her father picked this person. "But this is nowhere near the market," she protested.

"I know."

Raylene was confused but didn't say anything as she followed her guard, the woman in a suit. To anyone watching it looked like they were just walking down the street though with her look of confusion it was a dead giveaway. Raylene wondered if her father made a mistake and that the woman was working with the rebels or she was with one of those dissident groups or something.

It wasn't until they ended up in another vendor square that Raylene started to get the impression that there was something else going on. She demanded, "Okay stop. What are you doing?" She stopped and looked at Angela with a glare.

It just happened to be the right moment. Angela stopped and with a posture that looked more annoyed than anything turned to look at the girl. She stared at her and repeated what she said earlier, "Walking."

"What the hell does that mean?"

At that moment Angela looked up and as quick as a flash she had her knife out and the tip was pointed dangerously close to the jugular of the one that she had spotted tailing them. She narrowed her eyes at the rebel and said, "You have been following us. What do you want?"

The rebel glared back and was going to make a move to try to get out of the situation they were in. They were stopped when Angela clicked a warning in the back of her throat and said, "I wouldn't do what you are thinking of. Unless you really think it is worth dying for." She gave a hard look at the attacker.

The rebel was still glaring but he recognized that anything he tried would be futile at best. He lowered the weapon he had reached for reluctantly and put it away. He muttered something in his native language but didn't try anything since the knife was dangerously close to where his jugular was and one nick was all it would take.

Angela gave a slow grin and said, "Did you really think that I wouldn't have figured out that your boss was using revolution as a cover?" She lowered her weapon slightly but it was still in a dangerous position if the rebel was going to try something. "So why are you trying to sneak up on me, Ping?"

Ping was still glaring but then the expression turned to a grin and he started jabbering away in his dialect. Raylene watched with shock on her face at the scene. "What's going on?"

Angela gave a slow smile and explained, "Ping here is an old friend. He's from the mountains of China but he runs with a merry band of thieves. Isn't that right Ping?" She glanced at the man and grinned when he rattled off his reply. "I didn't recognize him when we were in the square. Followed standard operating procedure until I got a clear read."

"And put my life at risk," Raylene sputtered indignantly.

"Not really. This is a friendly neighborhood," Angela replied. At the look she was getting, she added, "I explored before my appointment and made a few friends and renewed acquaintances."

"It's still reckless."

Ping said something and Angela said, "Tell me about it. Took me off a personal assignment that was a favor to a friend." She patted Ping's shoulder when he gave her a word of sympathy. She then proceeded to talk to him in his language to find out why he had tracked her down. When he was finished she nodded, "Alright. Have your guys ready. If it does happen…"

"What are you talking about now?"

Angela didn't answer. Instead her head turned towards the sounds her hearing was picking up. She could hear the bell for alarm going off and she heard what she never wanted to hear. Her eyes searched the area around them but there was no one around. In fact it was coming from where they had been earlier.

Raylene heard the noise too and looked around. It was too quiet on the street they were on and it made her scared. She looked at her guard who was looking around and she marveled at how calm she appeared even though it was evident she was alerted to the situation. She tugged on her suit jacket cuff and asked, "What's going on?"

"Revolution."

Present

Raylene ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She really hadn't wanted it to come to this. What happened to her father was terrible but the way they were carrying things on… it was going to be a mess and one that she wasn't prepared for. There was chaos and it had her want to run like a scared girl and seek asylum from it all. She couldn't though since she was head of security at the time and she was his daughter.

What really bothered her was that she had to act like the prisoner and her former bodyguard was inhuman. And it was damned hard when said bodyguard looked at you as if daring her to give herself away and get herself out of the mess. It was the same expression she wore when they first met and thinking about it, Raylene realized it was more to make the other size start to doubt what they had. She had noticed it with the audience and two of the councilors.

It also helped that Sam Winchester knew what to say. He asked some really good questions and it would be sufficient to get her former bodyguard off. Yet she knew deep down that this was not going to be easy. She had been around Centurion politics enough to know that a grudge was in place and there were some things that were not going to be so easily forgotten or forgiven but the numbers that were in favor… it was staggering.

Raylene sighed as she walked through the corridors of the Manor and was tempted to go down to the prisoner block. Since she was security she was well within her rights to. She had used it to check on other prisoners that were waiting for their trials. She didn't like that they were being held there longer than necessary and she thought some of the charges were trumped up but she couldn't really argue that point.

She decided not to though since she didn't want to run in certain people and then have awkward questions asked. Besides it would be seen almost blasphemous if she asked to see her former bodyguard and talk to her. People already were thinking that she should be pissed that the accused killed her father but she wasn't. She was sad.

Lost in thought, she walked through the corridors mostly relying on her sense of smell and hearing to avoid running into anyone who would be out at that hour. She didn't expect to run into a hunter. And she certainly didn't expect to run into one of the hunters that was pretty much on the short list with everyone because he stood up for his brother. She merely blinked when he told her to watch where she was going and replied, "I was. You should do the same."

Dean had been feeling restless after Sam left to go talk to Angela. He had tried to bolster Sam's confidence but he could see that Sam was going to beat himself over this if the whole thing turned south. And it wasn't his fault. Rather than be stuck in the room to mull over things, he decided to take a walk and took the dogs with him. He knew where he could and couldn't go and while it sucked, there was some place to go.

He walked through the halls just thinking about everything and he was entertaining ideas on how to bust his girl out. He wasn't particularly concerned about Centurion rules and such but he was aware that his girl probably would want him to stop because she still knew people that were in good graces and she didn't have too many she would call friends. And he knew Sam was toying with similar ideas and it didn't help that Kesset didn't seem too concerned about the whole thing and it made him wonder why Sam wasn't getting up in arms about it.

Dean didn't understand completely the nuances regarding Avians and their whole guardian duty type of thing or the guardian thing in general but he grasped that Kesset had latched onto Sam as an authority to be obeyed and accepted orders without question. Sam's reaction to Kesset and anything that was related to Angela was a good indicator most of the time but lately it seemed that Sam was keeping things close-lipped. It was baffling.

It then occurred to Dean that perhaps Kesset wasn't worried because there was no reason to. He then figured that his girl was up to something. Whatever it was, she wasn't telling and she certainly wasn't telling Sam since his brother was just as baffled as he was. It was what he was thinking when he ran into someone. He told them to watch where they going. Their response had him look up and he realized who it was. It was automatic, "What are you doing here?"

Raylene recognized the defense mechanisms springing into place. If she were her teenaged self she would have snapped back at him. She couldn't help it though and replied, "Walking."

Dean looked at the girl. She wasn't bad looking; in fact she was his type in terms of looks. He was just defensive since the way he saw it was that she was the one that was trying to put his girl away. "Then walk somewhere else," he retorted.

"You bumped into me."

It turned into a bit of a standoff. Dean couldn't do much of anything since the dogs were not reacting to her like she was an enemy. He was baffled when Zeppelin gave a tentative sniff and then asked for a scratch. He muttered, "Traitor," and picked up the puppy and started walking in the opposite direction and told Xander to follow.

Raylene sighed and called out, "I'm not trying to tighten the noose."

Dean paused and threw back sarcastically, "And you're doing a fine job."

"You're not the only one who thinks this is bullshit."

Dean kept walking. He wasn't in a mood to talk to her but he was willing to poke his nose into anything and everything if only to find out something that could help them. He felt Zeppelin squirm a little bit and adjusted his hold. "Hey, we don't' need her," he whispered. When Zeppelin squirmed more and started making puppy growls, he paid attention and looked at Xander.

Raylene watched the elder Winchester walk away. She thought about something for a moment when she noticed something wasn't right. Narrowing her eyes, she followed the direction Dean had gone in. Her senses prickled and her eyes narrowed as she adjusted her body to a low stance and crept along the hall.

Dean had put Zeppelin down and the puppy was growling. His fur was standing on end and he looked big for a puppy. He was as big as Xander when he wasn't hyped up on a hunt. Dean watched as the puppy faced a direction and was growling low. He kneeled and put a hand across the shoulders as he had figured out was a good way to keep the puppy from being impulsive and he certainly needed it since Zeppelin was a sneaky little bastard when his nose found something he wanted when it came to food.

Now the puppy was on alert and Dean knew that his nose picked up a threat. What it exactly was he wasn't sure. It was definitely not a demon since he had seen the wards on the place. It had to be another threat and it put his hunter's instincts on full alert since his thoughts also went towards his brother since it wasn't just one or the other; it often ended up being both. That was what happened when that kid Gary tried to hand him over to the demons while riding Sam's meat. It was weird and just plain…

Dean petted Zeppelin and rubbed his shoulders looking around. "What do you have Zep?"

"Interesting name… for a mongrel."

Dean turned to see a pretty big guy advancing towards him. The guy looked human for the most part but his teeth were in sharpened points. The teeth alone made the guy look ferocious but the size was also troublesome. He hooked his fingers into Zeppelin's collar and replied, "Good enough name and… he picked it." He gestured at the pup.

The guy chuckled at that. "Still a mongrel. Only seems fitting for the brother of the one who started this."

Dean unhooked his fingers after telling Zeppelin to stay. He slowly stood up and looked at the guy with that look he got when he was sizing up someone but also conveying that he wasn't a pushover. "You got something to say, Chuckles?"

"I might… considering that the general was stupid enough to let the one that broke the last seal defend her."

It was another guy that was after his brother. Dean learned from Angela about what happened to Sam when they were separated and was a little hurt that Sam hadn't said a word but then again they hadn't been in a good place at the time. It had him concerned since that meant that there were other people out there that wanted Sam's head on a platter for that and that was if they knew the truth.

Dean would have said something but Raylene had chosen to make her appearance. Dean watched as she approached the guy, her eyes narrowed slightly but they were not like any human eyes he had seen. They looked almost cat like the way the pupil was reacting. He watched as she walked up and said, "Now, now Darien. You know that the Arbiter is the one that speaks for the accused and is usually someone who knows the accused."

"But…"

"What's done is done."

"You of all people should be outraged. We wouldn't be in this mess is it weren't for them." Darien gestured at Dean with disdain.

"Perhaps but I am not." She stood there and looked at the man. "If the general wishes to keep their company then who are we to question it?"

"We are not," Darien muttered. He turned to leave after shooting a glare at Dean.

Raylene watched Darien leave and heaved a slight sigh. She blinked and turned to look at Dean and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Dean replied a little gruff. To hide he bent to check Zeppelin and give him a few pats to soothe his agitation. "It's okay Zep."

Raylene smiled slightly at the puppy and commented, "He's a tracker isn't he?" At the look she got, she explained, "Darien is one of those things that doesn't generate a strong enough scent unless it is a tracker."

Dean looked at Raylene with a wary eye and checked to make sure both dogs were by him. "Yeah, he is. Proof is in that he's a sneaky little bastard when it comes to food." It was him acquiescing to her help and his being nice.

"That I don't doubt," Raylene replied in agreement, sensing that she was being accepted. She looked up and said, "I'm not out to get her. I know she didn't do it."

Dean looked at Raylene and studied her. She seemed earnest to have him believe her but he wasn't in too much of a believing mood. Still he could hear her out. "Alright, let's talk."

A/N: More on the job in Bangladesh and Dean meets up with Raylene and they start to have a talk. More next time on Trial and Reckoning...