Hey readers! I know it's been way way waaaaay too long, but I finally Got another chapter up. A bit of a filler before another chapter full of excitement, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
Chapter 10- The Girl Played with Firewalls
All four slept until noon the next day, and took their time getting ready and grabbing some lunch before getting on the road.
At around nine-thirty that night, Bobby saw the familiar headlights of the Impala pull into the driveway.
"Hey Bobby," Sam greeted as they filed into the house. Dean headed straight for the fridge to grab a couple of beers. He handed one off to Sam.
"I'll assume the vampire population is now a bit lower," Bobby said.
"Down five vamps." Dean held up his beer.
"Any news on Mr. Banner?" Mara asked.
Bobby shook his head. "Nothin' yet. Don't get me wrong. There are a number of Bruce Banners out there but-" Bobby's cell phone rang, cutting him off.
"Yeah?" Bobby answered in his rough voice.
"You sure?"
"No Harry. I believe ya."
"Thanks Harry. Keep me updated."
Bobby hung up the phone looking confused.
"What's up Bobby?" Sam asked in concern.
"That was Harry Ytzen. Him and Jimmy Lakes were in Galena waiting to see if the vamps would show. I'd put out an alert, but I hadn't let anybody know you'd killed 'em yet. Harry just told me that a group of vamps blew into one 'o' the bars there. Him and Jimmy took care of 'em."
"So the pattern continued even after we killed off the nest of vamps in Elizabeth?" Sam asked.
"What's going on?" Cami thought aloud.
"Sounds like the vampires are working together. Is that normal?" Mara looked at the two Winchester's and then Bobby.
"I ain't never heard of anythin' like it," Bobby replied.
"Could just be a coincidince," Cami suggested.
Dean rocked his head from side to side. "If there's one thing I've learned over the past thirty years, it's that there are no coincidinces in the supernatural world."
"So what? Are we saying that the vampires are in cahoots? That they're communicating?" Mara asked.
"They've gotta be," Sam said.
"But how? And why?" Cami asked.
"That's what you idgits gotta go figure out." Bobby told the group.
Mara thought of the most logical plan of action. "We should go back to the nest in Elizabeth and look for anything they might have been using to communicate with the other vampires."
Dean took another large swig of his beer. "Fine, but I need to change the oil in the Impala before we leave."
Mara gave him an obvious look. "Dean, why would we waste our time driving seven hours for a quick errand when Cami and I can get us there in a second."
Dean grimaced. "Great. I was just thinking that I'd gone too long without a good 'bout of nausea and dizziness."
Cami chuckled.
But Mara surprised the group with her response. "Cami and I could go alone. We just have to hunt through an abandoned old house. We'll be fine."
Dean opened his mouth to argue, but then thought better of it. There couldn't be much danger involved, and if things got bad, they could get out of there fast.
"Fine," Dean agreed.
"Seriously?" Sam's eyebrows shot up on his forehead.
Cami and Sam had both been internally bracing themselves for Hurricane Mara & Dean the moment Mara suggested a solo mission for the girls.
"Uh," Cami faltered, "Are you okay with that plan Sam?"
"Yeah," Sam finally answered, "It makes sense."
Cami continued to stare at her friend and Dean in utter disbelief. She'd definitely be giving her the third degree about her change in behavior. "Alright then. We'll see you boys later." Cami smiled at Sam just before the two witches apparated in front of the abandoned farmhouse outside Elizabeth.
Bobby waited until the girls disappeared before putting in his two cents, "You boys are bigger idiots than I thought."
"What?" The two Winchesters said in unison.
Bobby shook his head. Dean and Sam looked innocently at one another. As close as the brothers were, neither of them had even guessed at the others romantic involvement.
Dean finished off the rest of his beer. "Well, my baby's due for an oil change, so I'll be outside."
"And I'll go through that memory card one more time just to make sure we didn't miss anything," Sam said.
Bobby watched as the boys went their separate ways. What a bunch of idjits! Don't know how they're still alive.
***At the abandoned Vampire nest in Elizabeth***
"Alright. So spill it," Cami demanded.
"What?" Mara asked as the two walked up to the front door.
"You just had the perfect opportunity to start up another argument with Dean, and you were...well...nice."
Mara frowned over at her partner. "I am nice. And Dean and I don't always argue."
"You're right. I'm sorry," Cami muttered. She shoved open the front door. "But you both looked like you were about to start yelling again, and then you changed your minds." Cami began combing through the mess in the living room, through clothes and blankets, and cds and booze.
Mara got the feeling Cami knew something, and Mara so badly needed to tell someone about last night. And there certainly wasn't anybody else she was gonna tell. "Cami, if I tell you something, you can't tell Sam or Dean that I told you."
Cami stopped her search and looked directly at Mara. "What is it? I swear I won't tell a soul."
"So Dean and I...We sorta...kissed. Last night after you and Sam left, I was attacked by a vampire, and I killed it. And then Dean was yelling at me, and I was yelling at him, and then he kissed me."
"I knew it!"
"What do you mean you knew it?" Mara looked bewildered.
"Well, I didn't know you two kissed. But I knew there was something going on there. That it was only a matter of time."
"But we're almost always arguing. Why would you think that?"
"It was just a feeling. You two have this force...like magnetism or gravity."
"Have I ever told you how creepy your perceptiveness can be?" Mara chided. And she started tossing aside couch cushions and pillows.
Cami chuckled to herself as she continued the search too. Two hours and five rooms later, Cami finally stumbled onto something. "Found a cell phone. Cami held up a large smart phone."
"Thank goodness. Let's get out of this disgusting hell hole." Mara wiped her hands on her jeans and was just about to evaporate when Cami put out a hand to stop her.
"I've been thinking..." Cami uttered, "I should probably tell you that Sam and I. We're sorta...together"
Mara's eyes grew twice in size. "Together? How together?!"
Cami blushed. "We kinda went on a date that night you and Dean were at the bar. And on the cruise, we sorta...well we shagged."
"Wow!" Mara stood there looking stunned.
"Is that okay?"
Mara laughed once. "You're asking me if it's okay for you to shag Sam? I don't see why not. It's definitely a better pairing than me and Dean."
Cami smirked as she pocketed the phone. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way...we can't tell the boys we know this about each other."
"Absolutely not." And Mara apparated with Cami following right beside her.
***At Bobby's house***
"You find somethin'?" Bobby asked the girls when they suddenly appeared in front of his desk.
Cami handed him the phone. "We found this."
Sam came walking in when he heard Cami's voice from the other room.
"Lemme see." Sam took the phone from Bobby
Sam opened the screen and started swiping through screens and different apps. He looked through e-mails but found nothing out of the ordinary. After a bit more looking, Sam noticed an app with a little notification icon at the top. He clicked on it, and a list of messages popped up. Sam clicked on the first message, but it was full of unrecognizable symbols. He played around with it for a few more minutes, becoming more and more frustrated with each attempt to read the messages.
"Damn!" Sam cursed.
"What?" Cami asked looking over his shoulder at the screen.
"Message's encrypted."
"Encrypted?" Cami wrinkled her forehead in confusion.
"Coded. We'd need someone better with computers than me...someone we can trust."
"Do you know anyone like that?" Mara asked.
"Only one person I can think of. No idea how to find her though."
"There's gotta be a way," Cami said. She glanced up at the bookshelf behind Bobby's desk, and one of the first books to catch her eye was a humongous Bible. "What about the angel?"
Mara nodded at her partner's idea. "Yeah. Castiel. Couldn't he help us find her?"
"He might," Sam said. He picked up his cell phone to call Castiel.
Bobby grunted, "Be careful what you ask him to to do Sam. You know as well as anyone that He can be a bit of a wildcard when it comes to favors."
Sam's phone rang on the other end and rang until Castiel's voicemail picked up.
"Cass, we got a case, and we need to track down Charlie Bradbury. But she wouldn't be going by that name anymore and I don't think Charlie is her real name either. She helped us with Dick awhile back. She's gone off the radar, and we need your help to find her." And Sam hung up.
"So? Is he gonna help?" Mara asked.
Sam shrugged. "No idea. Got his voicemail."
Mara sighed in disappointment and looked around the room and into the kitchen. "Where's Dean?"
Bobby gave a grunted laugh. Sam, in return, gave Bobby a strange look.
"Outside workin' on the Impala," Sam answered her.
Mara nodded.
"I'm hungry," Cami said, "Anybody up for some beef stew?"
"Maybe later," Mara was already headed toward the stairs. "I'm gonna go upstairs and rest a bit."
"Alright," Cami said.
Mara climbed the stairs and shut herself in the spare bedroom, the only place in the house that was truly private for her or Cami.
Cami headed into the kitchen with Sam close behind her. "Want some help?" he volunteered, already pulling a cutting board from one of the cupboards.
Cami grinned. "Of course." She looked over at the tired looking man seated behind his desk. "Bobby? You hungry?"
"Just let me know when it's ready." He pulled some books from a pile and began flipping through pages.
Upstairs, Mara waited a minute to be sure that the others weren't going to bother her before she apparated out into the garage. The silence of the brisk night was drowned out by an old black radio blaring the sounds of Aerosmith.
Mara walked around to the front of the car where Dean was currently lying under the engine and all that could be seen were his legs and feet. In her mind, Mara imagined pulling Dean out from underneath the Impala *and climbing on top of him and.*... But she had no idea what he was doing under that car and didn't want to risk him getting hurt. So Mara hoisted herself up onto a nearby workbench and waited for Dean to finish.
Within a few minutes, Dean wheeled himself out and sat up. He was smudged in oil and dirt.
"That's a good look for you," Mara remarked, turning down the music so Dean could hear her. Dean looked up, noticing Mara for the first time since she had entered the garage.
"Did you find anything?" he asked, using a rag to wipe his hands.
"Yeah, a cell phone with something on it. But it was coded...encrypted, so Sam called Castiel to see if he could find some Charlie person."
Dean looked surprised. "Charlie? Really?" Dean walked over to Mara and put a wrench in the open box of tools on her left. Mara caught a huge whiff of motor oil and sweat that kind of got her excited. Since when does the smell of a mechanic turn me on?
Dean walked back over to the car and shut the hood. "I'm starving," he said as he turned back towards Mara. However, Mara was no longer paying attention to Dean. Mara's attention had been drawn to an old photo that was tacked to the wall above one of the workbenches. Dean followed Mara's line of sight to see where it landed. The picture was of John Winchester and Helen and a young Jo, all smiling in front of the roadhouse.
"Is that your dad?" Mara asked.
"Yeah."
"You look like him." He had the same nose and the same smile.
Dean grunted. Mara quickly realized how much the picture really bothered him.
"Sorry," Mara stepped between Dean and the photo. Suddenly, Dean was staring into Mara's apologetic green eyes. He quickly looked away.
"I think Cami was making beef stew." Mara tried to entice Dean and maybe even cheer him up.
It worked. "Homemade?"
Mara nodded.
"What are we waiting for?" Dean switched off the light in the garage, and Mara made a move. She quickly stepped up to Dean in the semi-dark garage and kissed him. It took a fraction of a second for Dean to respond, but when he did, HE DID.
Dean was a almost a foot taller than Mara. He hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Dean carried Mara over to the hood of his car. And set her down, now allowing him to run his hands all along her body and down her legs. Mara stopped kissing Dean and leaned around to nibble on his ear. Dean shivered at the electric feeling it gave him then moved to kiss Mara's neck. Her breathing quickened and every part of her body grew warmer...
***Inside the house***
Cami was just finishing supper while Sam got bowls and spoons from the cupboard. Cami moved the pot off the heat to let the stew thicken. "I'll go see if Mara wants some now?"
Sam, who was now leaning against the doorway waiting for Cami to finish, nodded. "I'll grab Dean. He'll definitely want in on this."
"Holy Hell!" Bobby hollered in the next room.
"I'm afraid that's an oxymoron," Cas said flatly.
Cami and Sam both rushed in to find Castiel in the center of the room, gripping the elbow of a very irate looking Charlie Bradbury.
"Cas!" Sam cried out, "You found her?!"
"It would have taken less time if you'd sent me a note on this thing." Castiel held up the phone. "I always get confused when they want me to enter some password to gain access to your voice messages."
Sam gave an amused smirk.
Charlie took the opportunity to say something, "Great! Sam Winchester. This is gonna suck isn't it?" She continued tugging against Castiels grip until he finally let her go.
"Don't worry Charlie. We're not gonna get you into any trouble," Sam reassured her.
Charlie wasn't buying it though. "Who the hell is she? And him? And this dick who kidnapped me?"
"I told you my name," Castiel said, "I'm Castiel, an angel of the Lord."
"Yeah. Got that," Charlie said perturbed.
"Maybe we should get the other two," Bobby suggested.
"I will," Cas said, and everyone watched as he disappeared.
Castiel reappeared at the front of the Impala. By now, Dean was shirtless and Mara was in the midst of having her own shirt removed. Mara opened her eyes, after the shirt was off, and spotted Castiel's form in the dark. She screamed.
Dean instinctively grabbed a gun from his jeans and turned with the barrel pointed at Castiel. Castiel disappeared from his reach and reappeared by the door. He switched on the light.
"Cas!" Dean yelled. "Dammit! What the crap are you doing?!"
"Observing."
Dean angrily grabbed his shirt, currently hanging from one of the car's rearview mirrors, and shoved it over his head. "You don't just observe a guy when he's...you know."
"Coming to know a woman."
"Damn right!"
Mara was incredibly disappointed by Castiel's sudden interruption, but she hid her disappointment. She smiled and gave each man a quick glance. "See ya inside." Then she apparated back upstairs and headed down to the study.
Outside, Dean hastily slid into his jacket. It was hard to stay mad at Castiel. Annoyed maybe, but not mad. Crazy dude just doesn't get it.
"Perhaps I should have let Sam come out to get you," Castiel suggested.
Dean shook his head. "No Cas. That would've been worse."
"Should I ask why?"
"You wouldn't understand." Dean walked up to the house alongside Castiel. "So what'd you find out?"
"Nothing on your Banner person, but I found Charlie."
"She came?" Dean asked incredulously. He'd doubted whether she would actually agree to help them. She had told them never to ask for her help again.
Castiel's face went blank. "I didn't know she had a choice."
"Oh boy. This should be interesting."
By the time Dean and Castiel entered the house, Charlie was hounding the others with questions while Sam, Cami, Mara, and Bobby boxed her in.
"Does this have anything to do with the Leviathans?"
"Not as far as we know," Mara answered.
"What then?"
Dean joined the conversation by answering her question. "Vampires."
Charlie immediately turned and started toward the door. "No thank you bitches."
"Charlie-" Dean started to try to appeal to her.
Charlie interrupted. "- It's Kat now."
Castiel countered. "Actually it's -"
Charlie cut him off, "You finish that statement, and I'll kick in your heavenly jewels Angel Boy."
Castiel tightened his lips, caught off guard by the woman's threat. Dean and Sam couldn't help the grins that emerged on their faces.
Then Dean continued to try to persuade Charlie, "Charlie...Kat...whoever you are now. We just need your help on the computer stuff here. No dangerous mission. Nobody will ever even know you're helping us."
Charlie crossed her arms and stood there tight-lipped. After a moment of thinking it over, she continued her path to the exit, which was when Cami caught sight of the Deathly Hallows tattoo on the back of her neck.
"What if we told you that we were working for Harry Potter," Cami blurted out.
Charlie stopped and turned to look at the blonde witch. "What do you take me for? I may believe in monsters and stuff now, thanks to these jerks. But I do know that Harry Potter isn't real."
"Engorgio!" Cami sent the enlarging spell at a book on Bobby's desk. It tripled in size.
"Cami!" Mara shrieked. She sent an accusatory glance at her partner, but Cami and the rest of the room were all waiting for Charlie's reaction.
"Dancing Hippogriff!" Charlie shrieked. "You're a witch! That was an enlarging spell!"
"Yes," Cami said, "We're witches. Aurors. And we're on an assignment. One we need your help on."
"And you work with Harry Potter?" Charlie was practically shaking with excitement.
"Yes."
Charlie glanced over at the Winchester to see their responses. They looked unsurprised whatsoever. "Really?" she asked.
"Really," Sam said. Dean nodded.
Charlie looked happier than a kid on Christmas morning. "Crap! This is awesome!"
"So you will help?" Cami asked.
"Of course! Just tell me what I need to do." Charlie kept staring at the witches.
"We have something that needs decrypting," Mara told her.
"On this phone." Bobby tossed the cell phone to Charlie who caught it easily.
Sam moved in behind Charlie. He pointed to the small black and gold app button on the bottom right of the second screen. "It's that one."
Charlie pressed on the app and stared at it for a few seconds. "You have a computer and a usb connector?"
Bobby got up from his desk and ushered her toward the chair where his laptop was all ready and waiting. "Got a bunch of those usb thingys in the top right hand drawer."
After a bit of searching, Charlie came across a connector that worked on the phone. Then Charlie went to work, completely focused on the screen in front of her.
Mara pulled Cami into the kitchen. "What are you thinking?" she whispered harshly, "You can't just tell random muggles about us?"
"I know. But these guys obviously trust her. We needed her. And I figured it might be the only way to win her over."
"What in Merlin's beard made you think that?"
"Look at the back of her neck next time you get a chance."
"Why?"
"She has a tattoo of the Deathly Hallows."
Mara went from angry to impressed. *It was a good catch on Cami's part.*
"Anybody for some food?" Dean's question came from behind the two girls. He was already at the stove, dishing up a heaping bowl of beef stew.
Two hours later Charlie finally looked up from the computer. "Got it!" she cried out and appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. Everyone else had taken to a game of cards at the tiny kitchen table.
Castiel was even watching the game with curiosity.
"What'd you find?" Sam asked, standing and throwing his hand down on the table. Everybody else followed suit.
"It's a game. An online RPG, and a pretty badass one too."
"RPG?" Dean asked.
"Role-Playing Game," Sam, Mara, and Charlie answered in unison.
"Nerds," Dean mumbled.
"And?" Mara urged, less concerned with how much of a geek Dean thought she was and more concerned with the game and what Charlie had discovered.
"And whoever owned this phone had been given a challenge by DragonLord66."
"Who's DragonLord66?"
"One of the Realm Masters." Everybody else in the room seemed confused. Charlie shook her head. "Another player. Someone who can give out tasks like that. Anyway...I got the IP address for DragonLord66 and from there I got you an address." She handed a piece of paper with an address to Dean.
"You're amazing Charlie!" Sam said.
"I know." She smiled satisfactorily. "There's a lot more that I haven't cracked yet though. I'll keep looking." Charlie helped herself to a bowl of food and returned to the laptop.
Dean looked down at the piece of paper and showed it to the others. The address was located in Bellville, Texas.
"We won't be able to apparate there. Neither of us have been there yet," Mara told the Winchesters.
"No problem. My baby's all oiled up and ready to go," Dean said.
Mara was about to protest when Castiel reached out and touched the two men's foreheads, and they disappeared.
"What the-?" Cami gasped.
Mara looked slightly shocked.
"That's Cas for ya," Bobby piped in from the kitchen doorway.
"Cas!" Dean yelled as the dark, quiet neighborhood appeared around the Winchesters.
"I assumed that time was of the essence," Castiel said.
"Yeah, well, you still need to warn a guy!" Dean snarked.
Sam and Dean scanned the street they were standing on. It was nothing special, a typical residential neighborhood. In the dark, it was tough to discern the color of any of the houses. They were all rectangular, middle-class homes, some one-story and some two. Most of the lawns looked well-kept, and many of the driveways had a car or two parked in front of the garage. Due to the late hour, few houses had any lights on.
Sam looked down at the piece of paper again. They were standing right across the street from the address.
"That's the house." Sam pointed to the square, brick home with lights coming from a couple of small basement windows.
"Figures. Probably some dude livin' in his mom and dad's basement," Dean remarked.
"I'll take a look," Castiel said and disappeared. He was back in the same spot in less than a second. "His name is Briant Larson. He's in the basement on the computer."
"Briant Larson," Dean repeated. He was already working on a plan to break in. "We better check for an alarm system first. Cas, you stay here."
Castiel watched as the Winchesters walked around the house, peeking in windows and checking doors.
"I got nothing," Sam said.
Dean shook his head. "Me neither." So he pulled out his Swiss Army knife and headed around back to another basement window. However, this one was dark. Sam used a flashlight from his jacket pocket so Dean could use the knife to maneuver the lock. Dean pulled the window open, and then he cut out the screen on the inside.
Sam continued to shine the flashlight so Dean could see how to climb in without making any noise. They both dropped down into the dark room, but their attempt at a silent entrance was foiled by a broom precariously leaning against the wall next to the window. It fell to the floor, knocking a box on its way down then causing not only one but an entire stack of boxes to topple over.
By the time the Winchesters had reached the next room, Briant, a scraggly little blonde-haired teenager, was on the phone with the police.
Dean and Sam both had their guns pulled and aimed at the boy.
"Drop the phone," Dean told him and motioned for him to put it on the ground.
Dean picked it up and ended the phone call with the police.
"We've got maybe 5 minutes tops Dean," Sam warned then turned back to speak to Briant. "Look kid. I don't have a lot of time to explain, but we're not here to hurt you, we just need some information."
"Wha-wha-what information?" Briant stared at the menacing looking guns. He was sweating and shaking in fear.
Sam continued, "We just need to know about that game you've been playing on your computer."
"Monster Madness 2.0?" The boy looked more confused than frightened at the mention of the game.
"Monster Madness? Really?!" Dean asked seeming unimpressed.
Sam ignored his brother. "Yes. We need to know everything you know about it."
"Not much to tell. I got an e-mail about a year ago with an invite into the game as a beta tester. I signed up and was given a username."
"Who invited you?"
"No idea. I didn't recognize the email address. But I couldn't pass up the chance to try out a new RPG before anybody else."
"How does the game work? Is someone giving you commands?"
"Well, I'm given tasks by one of the Game Lords if that's what you mean."
"What sort of tasks?"
"Dude, it's the most complicated RPG I've ever played. You can't just ask a question like that."
Sam went to ask a different question just as the lights went out.
"Dammit! The cops!" Dean cursed.
"No. Can't be. That was too fast," Sam argued, "Besides, they wouldn't cut the power like that without a reason."
Three figures came up from behind Sam and Dean and knocked them to the ground. Before, Dean or Sam could get to their feet they heard Briant scream so high and loud it could have woken the entire street.
The Winchesters regained their footing and began firing their guns.
"Sam! The computer!" Dean yelled out. But they were too late. The three creatures were already headed out the window with the computer, or what was left of it, in hand.
Sam caught a glimpse of fangs as the last figure turned back to look at him. Dean sent one last shot toward the intruders, and then they were gone.
Sam pulled out his flashlight again. The remainder of Briant's computer had been smashed to pieces. Dean kneeled down next to the boy and checked for a pulse.
"He's dead," Dean announced, then promptly hurried back the way they came, "Let's get outta here before the police show."
***Back at Bobby's house***
After the boys had gone, Charlie siezed the chance to chat up the two witches.
"So since when do witches from the Harry Potter books work with the Winchesters?"
"Since the Leviathans found their way into the wizarding world," Cami answered.
Charlie stiffened. "But this case is vampires right? Not Leviathans."
"We're supposed to work with them on all other cases until we can get rid of the Leviathans."
Mara stayed silent during Cami and Charlie's Q & A. She still wasn't thrilled about divulging their identities to this girl.
"Good luck with that." Charlie's voice sounded doubtful. "So how're the guys taking it?"
"Taking what?" Cami asked.
"Working with two badass Aurors of course."
Mara snorted, "How do you know we're badass?"
"You're working for Harry Potter right?"
Both of the witches smirked. Cami answered the initial question, "Sam is just fine with it. Dean on the other hand..."
"is an overprotective ass," Mara finished.
Charlie laughed, and Cami gave Mara a smug grin, "Yeah, but he might be warming up to the idea."
Charlie wasn't lost on the implication. "Oh hell no! You and Dean?!"
Mara narrowed her yes at Cami. "You are horrible."
Cami's grin widened. She knew Mara wasn't really mad at her. "Oh, c'mon. Charlie's cool. She's not gonna say anything."
"She's right," Charlie nodded.
"Well then, I suppose you won't mind if I mention how you and Sam are having a bit of rumpy pumpy."
Charlie's mouth fell open in further surprise. "I'm assuming that means you're doin' the dirty."
Charle's words sent both Cami and Mara into a fit of giggles. Charlie soon joined in. The girls' laughs were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in the kitchen doorway.
"Bobby!" Mara cried out when they all turned to see who it was.
"Bloody Baron. How long have you been standin' there?" Cami asked.
"What did you hear?" Mara added.
"Don't worry ladies. I already had my suspicions."
"You did?" Cami said in surprise, "How?"
"'Cause I'm not an idjit like Sam and Dean."
"So Sam and Dean don't know that the other is...?" Charlie didn't bother finishing the question.
Both witches shook their heads.
"That could end badly," Charlie remarked.
"Hear. Hear," Bobby chimed.
Twenty minutes later the side door banged open, and a very irritated Sam and Dean trudged in.
Mara frowned. "Nothing?"
"Oh no," Dean griped, "We found him. But so did the vampires."
"What about his computer?" Charlie asked.
Sam answered her, "Destroyed. And the vamps got the hard drive,"
"Bullocks!"
Mara held back a laugh, "You know that sounds weird coming from an American."
Charlie shrugged. "But appropriate nonethelesss."
"So this Briant guy...he was human?" Bobby asked.
Sam nodded. "A computer nerd. He seemed convinced that he was just playing a game."
"The guy screamed like a girl when the vamps showed up," Dean pointed out.
"Did you kill the vampires then?" Cami asked.
Sam shook his head. "They were too fast, and they caught us by surprise."
"You think the vampires were trying to cover their tracks?" Charlie asked.
"That's what it looked like. They were certainly covering someone's tracks," Sam answered.
"Are you suggesting that the Leviathans could be involved in this?" Mara questioned.
Dean shrugged, "Could be."
"That's just great!" Charlie groaned. "And I was finally getting used to Kat Bishop."
Nobody responded to the comment. And in the split-second of silence, Mara's phone rang.
She answered.
"Hello."
Of course, Harry Potter was on the other end. Since they'd been placed back with the Winchesters, only Bobby, Dean, Sam, Cami, and Harry had the ability to call Mara, all other callers had been blocked.
"Mara. You, Cami, and the Winchesters are needed at the ministry immediately."
"Yes sir. We'll be there right away."
Mara hung up and addressed the group. "Mr. Potter needs the four of us back at the ministry."
"What for?" Dean questioned.
"Hi didn't say."
"Shall I return she-who-shall-not-be-named back to her place of residence?" Castiel asked, gesturing to Charlie.
Everyone in the room stared at Cas in complete disbelief, and finally the girls and Sam started laughing.
Castiel looked somewhat pleased with himself. "And I thought for a moment that my attempt at humor had failed."
"At least you knew what you were saying was funny. It's definitely a step up," Bobby remarked.
Charlie took it upon herself to answer the initial question, "I can stay here and continue working on hacking into more of this game if you want. See what I can find out."
"Bobby? You okay with that?" Sam asked.
"Sure. Why not? Singer motel always has vacancies these days."
Charlie frowned at the partially sarcastic remark.
"Don't worry Charlie...I mean Kat," Sam said, "Bobby's a good guy. You'll be in good hands."
Charlie nodded.
"You boys know the drill." Mara handed Sam and Dean each an invisibility ring.
"You know maybe we should just hang on to these," Dean said taking his.
"And risk the damage you could do with that. I don't think so." Mara waited for Dean to put the ring on and then apparated him to the ministry.
"Ready?" Cami asked invisible Sam.
"Let's go," he said holding onto her hand.
Ten minutes later they were all inside the dark, dusty room in the Department of Mysteries from six weeks ago, with a very solemn looking Harry Potter. Cami noted how unfortunate it was that he looked so sad and stressed. Until a few months ago, Harry was almost always seen with a smile on his face.
"We have an urgent situation which requires the help of the Winchesters."
Dean and Sam both straightened in interest.
Harry continued, "A small town not too far from Bourne has been...well to be honest I'm not sure how to describe it. It seems as though the people have been cursed. I got a call earlier today about some problems with wizards performing dark magic out in the open. When I sent in some Aurors to take care of the situation they were attacked by a large number of the residents, both wizards and muggles. They immediately reported back to me, and I instructed them to set up barriers around the town. Nobody can get in or out and they've put a spell on the town that blocks any magic from being used."
Dean and Sam gave each other a grave look. They knew what the other was thinking, and it wasn't good.
"So I want the four of you to go and assess the situation and, if possible, take care of it."
"If magic is blocked, why are you sending Mara and Cami?" Dean asked.
"They've been trained in methods of fighting that do not involve magic."
And something clicked in Sam's mind. "That's what they've been doing for the past five weeks."
Harry nodded. "That's correct. I wanted it to be kept confidential, and it is of the utmost importance that nobody else knows about their training."
"So wait." Dean looked directly at Mara. "Are you telling me that you and Cami trained in what? Martial Arts?"
"For one..." Mara answered. "Hand-to-hand combat, firearms, knives, and a few others."
"Which will be kept secret," Harry added.
Dean went silent with a mixture of astonishment and admiration.
"You never said what the name of the town was?" Cami pointed out.
Harry looked a bit hesitant to answer, but he did. "Rippingale."
Cami's color drained.
"Don't worry Cami," Harry placed a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever it is, it didn't affect anyone beyond the town limits. Your parents are safe."
Cami let out a deep breath.
"But we need you to get their fast before more people are hurt or killed." Then Harry reached inside his robe. He pulled out a small snowglobe and laid it on the table. "I have a portkey linked inside the barrier. In precisely one minute, the Aurors will lift the barriers momentarily for you to transport yourselves there. Any questions?"
They all shook their heads.
"Just place a hand on the snowglobe and good luck."
Cami, Mara, and the Winchesters all placed a hand on the portkey and waited. Within seconds, much like apparating, the world fell away, except this time it felt as though this tiny little snowglobe was pulling them along. They moved so fast everything around them swirled into a blur of colors. The ride was bumpier than apparating too, and it seemed to take twice as long for them to land.
"Ugh!" Sam and Dean hit the ground hard while the two witches practically floated down, landing gently on the grass.
Dean got to his feet. "I think you're just putting us through this stuff for your own amusement."
Mara grinned, "Nah, that's just an added bonus."
"So is this a wizarding community?" Sam asked as he pushed himself off the ground as well.
"No," Cami answered, "Mostly muggles, but there are a few families in town with one spouse and children who are witches and wizards."
The group started to take a look around. They'd been transported to the edge of an abandoned property in the corner of the tiny town. Dean caught sight of a sign on the road displaying the the town's population of 837 .
"You grew up here?" Sam asked Cami.
"A few miles outside of Rippingale, but I spent a lot of time in town" She looked around at the part of town they were in, noting each house and who lived there. The big old white ranch-style was where the Tyler family lived. They were all muggles, but Cami and their son Lyle had been playmates as small children. Next door to the Tyler's was a tiny yellow cottage where the Parson's lived, an old couple whose children had all grown. They had tea on the front porch at precisely three o'clock every afternoon, rain or shine. Then, of course, there was the enormous log cabin on the corner where the Daniels' resided, a young couple. He was a physician and she was a witch who worked in the Department of Magical Transportation at the Ministry of Magic. They had just had their first child, a baby girl named Rose, a few months ago. Cami hoped that they had gotten out before all this started.
"Is it normally this quiet?" Mara broke through Cami's thoughts. It wasn't until that moment that Cami noticed that it was in fact too quiet, even for Rippingale.
"We need to walk further into town," Dean said.
Cami led them all down the streets she was so familiar with. After just a few blocks, they stepped out onto the town's main road. You could see the library, the post office, a small diner with a faded sign, a family physician's office, and a few more old buildings that may or may not have been in use...not that any of the buildings seemed to be in use at the moment. Everything looked deserted, from the bank to the gas station. Even cars had been abandoned in the middle of the street.
"What's going on here?" Cami asked aloud.
"Aw crap! Sammy," Dean spoke grimly. He knew that Sam was thinking exactly what he was thinking. Both brothers' faces were practically identical in the grim category.
"I know Dean."
"What do you know?" Mara asked, her eyes darting worriedly between the Sam and Dean.
"But we can't be certain," Sam said to his brother.
"Oh c'mon. What other possible explanation is there?"
"Will someone please explain?" Cami demanded.
Sam finally answered the witches, "We think it's Croatoan Virus."
Yay! I've always enjoyed a good Croatoan Virus storyline. Let me know your thoughts. I absolutely love hearing them.