The door clicked open, Juliet having used Shawn's spare room key before. She wasn't expecting a certain Winchester to be sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, cereal and paper in front of him. This was a side of the man journalists would kill for an hour with.
"Oh, hey Juliet." Dean said nonchalantly as if expecting her.
"Hey... Dean. I was just here to see, I came for..." Juliet over herself awkwardly, and slowly made for the door again.
"No, that's cool. Nothing wrong with some morning loving from your man." Dean said just as cooly as he had said good morning.
"Did Shawn say anything to you?" She began to get a bit angry, but tried not to confirm too much.
"Nah, he's better than that. I saw you guys last night though before you left. 'Bout time Shawn gets a girl that's cool with taking control." Dean laughed quietly.
Juliet's face was damn near red as an apple. "You're not going to tell Gus or Carlton, are you?" Juliet asked a little timidly.
"I had this talk with Shawn yesterday. Don't worry about it." Dean smirked at her, seeing his promise sitting well with her. Dean could be a jokester, sure, but Dean Winchester kept his secrets and promises. Especially his own.
"Is Shawn up?" Juliet asked taking a seat at the table.
"He took off a while ago. He went for a run or something healthy." Dean shrugged, not quite sure what was going on with that guy. Shawn just sat around and did nothing before prison. But after they sprang he'd become a fitness junky that never changed his diet from the crap he ate before.
"Ah..." Juliet turned around quickly to see the retreating form of Gus.
"Was he wearing only a..." Juliet found herself in an awkward and speechless situation.
"Towel? Yeah." Dean confirmed.
"Are you all staying in one room now?" Juliet asked surprised. Why would three people with their... resources, condense to tight quarters.
"Yeah, it was Shawn's idea. He wasn't specific, but he said we had to 'tighten security'." Dean let her in.
"He didn't say if he felt in danger or not?" Juliet asked, her detective brain taking over.
"Don't go all detective on me, Juliet!" Dean sounded oddly offended.
"Sorry, force of habit." She shrugged and apologized. "Can I leave a message for well... all of you really.
"Ah, yeah. What's up?" Dean was all ears.
"We're going off to Cheyenne."
"Vick let you guys back in already?" Dean asked surprised.
"We were the closest agents, and the best robbery specialists she has." Juliet said, trying not to look too proud, though it made her feel good. "She specifically told us to bring you three." she said a little more solemnly.
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Shawn turned the corner around the gas station on his way back to the gas station. Off the reflection of the window, Shawn caught the same Ford Fusion that had been following him all day. As much as he wanted to return to the barn, he wasn't going to lead this shady follower to the nest.
He ran right past and kept moving before ducking into an AutoZone. He waited until the Fusion went right on by, not having caught his last move.
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Shawn quickly slipped in the room and closed the door behind him, tired and panting.
"How was the run, Rocky?" Dean asked looking up from his road maps.
"I knew it. Someone was following me." Shawn said confidently and a quickly.
"What do you mean someone was following you? Just a coincidence or like this guy wants a Shawn Spencer trench coat?" Dean asked, interested in Shawn's newest development.
"Definitely Buffalo Bob style." Shawn agreed. "The same Ford Fusion followed me my entire run. I have no idea who he is or why he followed me."
"I think it's time to shag ass out of Oregon." Dean held up his Wyoming map.
"You know that's right." Gus said standing in the door way now. "Where we going?"
"I hear Cheyenne is nice." Dean said, knowing that's where they were going regardless.
"Cool. Let's go." Gus agreed with no argument. He didn't seem to care at this point, as long as the road trip continued.
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"No... what? No!" Shawn watched in the rearview of the Impala, anger clear on his face.
"What? If you tell me you have to crap again, I'm not stopping." Dean said threateningly.
"No no, not that. Well kind of. But that damn Focus! It's behind us in the passing lane." Shawn's voice was low and pissed off now, tired of losing this guy.
"That blue one behind us? He won't have anything to chase in a second." Dean smirked and hit the gas, weaving this way and that around fellow drivers. The Focus tried to catch, but good luck.
The focus was in the dust, as the classic muscle car breezed through the city. Dean eased of the gas and applied a bit of break, before Gus looked out the back window.
"Uh, Dean... we still have company." Gus tried to get the importance of it across, but at the same time seem calm. Which he really wasn't.
"Oh, come on!" The red and blues flashed behind him, two patrol cars coming in.
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Cheyenne, Wyoming
"What in the Hell was that!" Lassiter barked when the team met up. "A high speed chase across a quarter of a state. What part of that seemed like a good idea?" Lassiter pressed.
"The part that involved us out of hand cuffs!" Dean yelled back, holding his wrists up.
"I have half a mind to..."
Seeing the look on Gus and Juliet's faces, he had to come between these two. "We were being followed, Lassiter." Shawn actually used his real name, this was big. "We were followed by a Ford Focus with New York plates. We blew past him but he tried to follow us. We attracted cops." Shawn told him the truth.
"There, would that have been so hard Winchester?" Lassiter mocked Dean.
"It can be when you're being a dick." Dean shot back at the now fuming man.
"The plate numbers, did you see anything?" Juliet asked, trying to bring the boys back on track.
Shawn closed his eyes and he held a finger to his temple, not sure why it helped. "VFT, the state shape thing, then 4638." Shawn rattled off from memory.
"We'll run the plates." Lassiter snarled at Dean, and Dean smiled extra wide at him in jest.
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The man pulled the Focus to the road, cool and collected after losing his target. He removed his cell phone to make what he assumed to be a hard call. "Mr. President, I lost them. Winchester has considerable skills behind the wheel."
The man's accented words took time to get a response. "Do you know where they are going?" His shady employer questioned.
"Cheyenne, Wyoming. I'm going now." He scratched his blonde beard as he stared out the windshield.
"Keep on them, or I'll find someone else."
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"We ran the plates." Juliet informed Shawn over the phone. "It don't exist, Shawn."
"Wait, like it's not a real plate?" Shawn asked, eyebrow raised.
"Exactly. There is no indication the plate was ever released. This guy doesn't want to be found." There was a brief pause when no one spoke. "Please Shawn, you Gus and Dean need to be careful. This guy is tricky, and has resources."
"Thanks Jules... we'll watch ourselves." Shawn promised, hanging up the phone. Cheyenne was in view.
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Dean went over the leather backed journal, reading over old notes to stay sharp. They weren't active themselves, and he didn't want to get rusty.
Gus also continued to research the newest techniques and equipment, sharing what he found important for Dean to catalogue.
Shawn came in with food for the day, the Trio deciding to go for a middle end place instead of a suite. Shawn figured they'd be less detectable, high net worth like theirs being expected to live high end.
"What's new?" Shawn asked, referring to the latest research.
"Not a lot has changed since we left the game." Dean said looking up from his notes, drawing a wire schematic of a the newest H and H lock.
"Do you think Annabelle knows this stuff is online?" Shawn loved how much you could find if you looked.
"I doubt it." Gus replied confidently. "You really have to know what you're looking for to find the stuff we know." Gus was no stranger to underworld literature.
Dean chuckled to himself before sharing with the group. "Did you guys see the way he was TRYING not to look at her?"
"You don't have to be a psychic to know he's trying not to have the hots for her." Shawn joked.
"I'm Lassiter and I'm the world's biggest hard ass." Gus said in an overly deep voice, puffing out his chest and swinging his arms back and forth. "I'm not allowed to be human and show emotion besides anger."
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Lassiter's Ford Fusion stopped in the parking lot, but he stayed unmoving. He could not will himself to move. Something was very wrong indeed.
"Carlton? Everything alright, partner?" Juliet asked, her voice thick with concern for her quick to act teacher.
"My shield. I left it at the hotel back in Portland." Lassiter turned his head slowly. I have to go back."
"What? What do you want me to do?" Juliet asked from concern for herself, fearing the worst.
"You're going to have to start this one alone, O'Hara. You're a Federal agent of the law, and you know you're stuff." Carlton's voice was stiff as ever, but somehow inspiring. "Now get out of my car."
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"Hello, I'm Special Agent Juliet O'Hara. I've been informed you requested aid on the robbery/murder." Juliet didn't seem harsh and intimidating, but she was firm and unmoving. She was rather proud of herself.
"Yes, this way please." The officer closed the traffic log and stepped from behind the counter.
Juliet weaved behind this desk and that, taking the quickest route to the chief behind her guide.
"Chief Swanson?" Juliet asked politely to the lady behind the nice oak desk.
"You must be Special Agent O'Hara." Swanson stood up and took Juliet's hand. "Glad you could come so quickly." she said with a relieved smile.
"I had just wrapped up a robbery/homicide in Portland." Juliet informed her, explaining the quick travel time along with Lassiter's led foot.
"The ones the Trio intervened with?" Swanson arced an eyebrow. "What was the deal with that?"
Juliet froze momentarily, not sure how to handle that without giving away her open affiliation. "We got an anonymous call giving the location of the men we were after. We went to the location and there were the suspects, looking like they were about to throw down with Shawn Spencer and Dean Winchester themselves. Then we were joined by Burton Guster, trained on the men we were after.
"The men we were there for turned to us when my partner and I ordered them to freeze. Winchester and Spencer held them up too. By the time we had them secured, the Trio made a tight getaway. Didn't you see the story?" Juliet asked, not sure why she had to be questioned.
"I did see the story, but sometimes they leave out or embellish."
"They had it pretty spot on this time." Juliet laughed nervously, happy she ducked anything worse.
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"Mr. Hartfield, I found them." The blonde man reported, smiling wolfishly and running a hand over his buzz cut.
"Well done Mr. Fleming. Please observe, report... and don't lose them again." the mysterious Hartfield was firm, unmoving, and never to be crossed. Or stolen from.