Plans

Cas threw his backpack over his shoulder then jogged down the stairs at a quick pace. He turned the door knob to the front door but was interrupted by a cough coming from behind him.

He turned around to see Gabe staring at him with his arms crossed. Cas shot him his best 'everything is cool' smile. "Uh, hey, Gabe. Didn't expect you to be home on a Friday night," he said as unsuspiciously as he could.

Gabe was extremely smart. He noticed everything that went on around him but sometimes he was completely oblivious. Especially since he hasn't figured out what's been going on with his own best friend for the past few months.

"It's not safe out there, Cas. Where are you going?," he asked his friend as his eyes drifted to Cas' black backpack.

"To Deans. I'm tutoring him, remember?," he said with a raise of his eyebrows.

Gabe's lips tightened into a straight line. "Do you really think that's such a good idea? I mean, there's a psycho loose that's harming frat members," he said with concern.

Cas shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I heard they're not all frat members. Don't live in fear so much. I'm fine," he lied.

Gabe frowned. "It's just-," he paused briefly, "I worry about you. Did something happen last summer that I don't know about? You're different."

Cas' heart beat heavily in his chest. "Nothing happened," he said as soon as Gabe closed his mouth. Gabe looked at him oddly.

"Alright," he said with defeat as he raised his hands in defense. "I'm just a little on edge with this paper I'm working on. You know, the one about the person doing all of this. I mean, the entire campus is looking for him."

Cas swallowed nervously while nodding. "So, you don't think these guys deserve what happened to them?," he questioned his friend. He was so sick of everyone feeling sorry for these guys. He needed to do something else. He needed to show everyone who these people are.

"There's no files on them anywhere. They haven't done anything to deserve this," Gabe scoffed as if he couldn't believe what Cas had implied.

"Keep thinking that, Gabriel," Cas said angrily before stomping out of the house.

Something needed to be done. He wasn't getting his point across. No one was listening. It just made them even more sympathetic for rapists. His thoughts flurried together as his mind seemed to be going a hundred miles an hour.

He wasn't sure when he made it to Deans apartment but now here was standing in front of him as Dean looked at him the same way Gabe always did. "Cas?," Dean said, interrupting his thoughts.

Cas pushed his way into the spacious apartment and threw his backpack onto his leather couch. "Please tell me you have something. I need something. We need to go bigger," he said quickly as he paced back and forth in front of the couch.

Dean grabbed his shoulders then spun him around to face him. "Calm down, Cas. What's wrong with you?," Dean questioned him as his green eyes burned into Cas'.

"They're not listening, Dean. We need them to listen," he told him while gripping tightly onto the collar of Deans shirt.

Dean nodded. "Okay. It's going to be okay. Just sit down with me for a moment, alright?," he asked rhetorically while pulling him down onto the couch next to him.

Cas ran a tired hand down his face while he shook his head. "It's just not fair," he said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

Dean wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into his chest. "I know it's not. But just think about all the good that you are doing. These guys aren't going to do it again. They will have no more victims and that's all because of you," he assured him while Cas sniffed into his shirt.

Dean stayed patient and calm with him as Cas pulled himself back together. He hated feeling so weak and vulnerable. He hated that Balthazar made him feel this way. He hated him.

He lifted his head from Deans chest. "I'm sorry. I don't really know what came over me," he said shyly.

Dean shifted on his cushion and turned to face Cas. He lifted his chin with his index finger coaxing him to look directly at him. "Cas, you are a badass. And a fighter. You've overcome so much and I'll be damned if I see you give up now."

A smile tugged at Cas' lips. "You really think so?," he asked him.

Dean nodded firmly. "I know so. Now, are you sure you're okay before I let you know what's going on?," he asked him while double checking his features.

Cas nodded back. "I'm okay. Thank you, Dean," he said gratefully.

Dean smiled but waved him off. "Of course," he replied. He stood off the couch then offered his hand out for Cas to take. "Come on. You've got to see this," he said while Cas grabbed his hand.

Dean lifted him up with ease and smiled when Cas looked at him like he was Superman. He led him over to the dining room table where his laptop was open. Cas sat in his usual spot next to Dean and mentally prepared himself for the next fucked up job.

Dean turned the screen so both him and Cas could see as he pulled up a video of what appeared to be security footage of a bar. "What is this?," Cas asked with a furrowed brow. Dean shushed him then pointed to the screen where it zoomed in.

Two college age boys sat at the bar drinking what was either water or vodka in a glass. After a few minutes, one of the boys got up from the bar and left. Another boy walked over to the bar and sat down in the missing boys spot.

The remaining boy began to chat him up and flirt with him. The boy's body language screamed that he was uncomfortable. He turned around away from the original boy to presumably find his friends. The first boy quickly dumped something into the other boys' glass before getting up and walking away from the bar.

Cas tightened his fist. "What is going on?," he asked Dean loudly. Dean held his finger up for Cas to look back at the screen. He looked back at the black and white screen as his whole body shook with anger. The screen switched to an outside camera that looked like a camera that Dean had planted.

The boy with the obviously spiked drink stumbled out of the bar. The boy that had left earlier in the video offered to help him walk. He wrapped his arm across the boy's shoulders and stood perfectly still while talking casually to him like nothing was wrong.

A sleek black car quickly pulled up to where the pair was standing. The boy pulled open the back-seat door before shoving the drugged guy into it then slammed the door. The car pulled out and away from view as the remaining boy made his way back into the bar.

Dean closed the laptop and looked carefully at Cas to make sure he was alright. "What did I just watch?," he asked Dean as his voice cracked at the end.

Dean frowned. "I setup some cameras around all the campus bars just to get a better idea on what happens. Well, I got this two nights ago but I only saw it last night. I went through recent police files and found an incident that matches this. But," he paused as he looked down at the table.

"But what?," Cas questioned him. He knew that there were things going on around the campus that no one talked about but he never knew exactly how dark it could be.

"They closed the case. Almost immediately. I've watched it over and over. They obviously only target males. Young males. One distracts the victim then slips them a drug. The other one waits outside to make sure they don't leave. Then the previous one takes them and I'm sure you can fill in the blanks from there," he answered.

Cas nodded while his body continued to vibrate. "Alright. What's the plan?," he asked him.

"Well, I thought a lot about this. And I don't want to put you through anything that will make you panic. So, I figured I'd play bait tonight," Dean suggested nervously.

Cas tilted his head thinking he had misheard Dean. "I'm sorry. Play bait? You're seriously going to let them kidnap you like that?," he questioned him with disbelief.

Dean shook his head. "Of course not. But I need a way to get the guy alone. I will text you every single minute. And I'll be just fine," he tried to assure Cas.

Cas stood up hastily from the table and began to pace back and forth again. "No, Dean! I am not going to sit back while you get into a car with a rapist without me! What if he hurts you or seriously drugs you without you knowing? I'm not risking you getting hurt," he exclaimed.

Dean stood up and gently put his hands on Cas' shoulders to calm him down. "Cas, I'll be fine. You've taught me everything there is to know. We cannot stand idly by while innocent people are getting hurt. There is no other way."

"But maybe I can be the bait," Cas suggested softly.

Dean shook his head immediately. "Not going to happen. I'll be okay. You're going to have to trust me on this one," he told him confidently.

Cas thought a moment before ultimately nodding in agreement. "Fine. But promised you'll take my pocket knife," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small switch.

Dean wrapped his hand around Cas' before taking the knife away from him. He spread his other hand across Cas' face while looking deeply into his eyes. "I got this."