Chapter 10

Angela paced the area back and forth, making sure that the sigils in the dirt were completely wiped away. It wouldn't do anyone any good to see them and freak out. Right now she needed to come up with an idea. Vera was a problem but the main sticking point was the unknown guy that was dogging Vera's steps. He was the wild card and in her experience, the wild cards proved to be the most dangerous.

He had powers and that was a no brainer. The full range was something that was something to eventually get known. However, if he was with Lilith that meant that he might be pretty high on the food chain. Thing was he wasn't a demon; he didn't exhibit the usual signs like the eyes with the usual color. No there was something vaguely familiar about his essence but she couldn't put a finger on it. What was most disturbing was the fact that he looked like he knew her. That shouldn't have been a surprised because she was certain there were things out there that she hadn't seen before and they knew her and mostly by reputation. This one knew her and not like meeting her but more like he knew what she was.

That was ridiculous since she knew what she was and that wasn't going to change. Somehow she couldn't shake this feeling that this was just the beginning of something else… bigger. She had a vague idea of a possibility and she loathed it since she had given her say on that spiel a long time ago and they knew what she felt about it. Right now she should be concentrating on what to do with Vera. She was the immediate threat since she was after her Sam and she was not going to stop until he was a pile of flesh and bone beneath her feet.

"So Angie what did Miss Sunshine mean about the last time?"

"Dean, do you really think that is relevant right now?"

"I'm not poking her with a stick and risk having her rip my head off. Better to ask a stupid question."

Angela lifted her head to see that the Winchesters were still there and they were arguing over something. She had vaguely heard Dean's question and now her attention was directed towards them. She asked, "What stupid question?" She frowned a little in confusion wondering what was going on while thinking about what to do next.

Dean looked at Sam with smug satisfaction and replied, "Rather than poke you with a stick and then have you attempt to rip my head off, I figured asking a stupid question would get your attention out of whatever it was you were just doing right there."

Angela thought about it and replied, "Makes sense. I knew you were a genius." She smiled in a teasing manner.

Dean grinned in response. He sobered though and asked, "So what are we going to do?"

"Kill the bitch and try to stay out of the other guy's way," Angela gave the answer in a matter of fact tone. "I'm not letting her near either of you."

"And maybe you missed the part about Lilith putting the hit out on you too and the part where you have the key."

"Makes it easier." Angela shrugged her shoulders. She studied them both before sighing. "Look I have no qualms about taking on a demon or two coming after me. I have been doing it all my life. As to the last part, I have no idea about that. I figure it was something Cary left as a parting shot since he knows how tumultuous our relationship is."

"Sounded like he knew something to me and usually I'm pretty good at detecting bullshit," Dean countered.

"That and making bullshit," Sam muttered. He didn't like the situation either. It was nothing new that Lilith was after him. Ruby told him that and then Ruby spilled the beans and Dean was pissed at that. What bothered him was that Lilith wanted her alive and only put out a hit to distract her which was pretty much senseless but to test her abilities wasn't that farfetched and he was certain Angela figured that one out already.

"Unfortunately Dean," Angela replied before he could make the comment on Sam's remark, "The only key I know we have is the Seal of Nameh and that is at Bobby's and that key unlocked the vault and you know the rest. So I really have no idea unless it is one of the nifty weapons I like to tote around."

"Absolution is badass and so far I haven't seen him not slice and dice," Dean replied.

"There's always a first. Soul swords are a mystery."

"But he could still put up a fight. Hell he wanted to when Vera pissed Sam off," Dean replied. "He might be able to pull it off."

Angela gave a slight grin at Dean's reference to Absolution. Up until then she had been the only one who called it a 'he' instead of an 'it'. "He might but to be honest I have no idea if it would work. I never had to kill a phoenix before."

"I don't think you should be calling her that," Sam said, "Not with all the demon mojo…"

That made a good point. Since the healing power of the phoenix was in the fruit and it had been corrupted. That was a thought but they needed to get away from the Romani. She wouldn't put them through this anymore. Of course she would need to speak to someone she loathed to speak to if she couldn't get what they needed.

"I can see you have a plan Angie. You're like Sam when the hamster wheel goes on overdrive in that brain of his. You start thinking a mile a minute and do a little excited walk."

Sam shot Dean a grade A bitch face. He didn't do that and Dean knew it. She didn't do that. She may get a slight goofy happy look and then start either scribbling furiously or start working on it as if trying to keep up with her thoughts. That he was guilty of but a stupid dance… Dean had to be kidding.

"I think I have an idea. As to the key… I'm going to drop it for now. No use worrying about it." Angela grinned slightly at Dean's description. She didn't do that and he knew it. "The thing is we have to lead Vera away from the Romani. Canyons or passes with high walls of rock should be able to limit her use of power and if memory serves, we head northeast. There's a pass there that'll do but we will have to leave Impa at the turnout park."

"What about the other guy?" Sam asked the question in a soft tone.

"Wild card and I have no idea how that will work out," Angela gave an apologetic shrug of her shoulders. "From what I was able to observe, he was with her almost like he was watching her. He wasn't interested in doing anything… except when I almost got her."

"So what he's like a bodyguard or something?"

"No idea but if Cary's information is accurate, and is usually is, then we have next to nothing on him except that he follows Lilith's lead."

"So we just lead this bitch away and hope he doesn't decide to gang up on us? That's a big gamble Angie," Sam replied looking concerned.

"Since he follows Lilith's lead, he will more likely try to wrap me up in a nice bow for the hell bitch. He's not interested in killing me."

"But he will defend the other," Sam countered, "Like he did the last time." He pointed slightly at her abdomen. It had been a guess but it proved right when he saw the telltale look in her eyes. He may not be out to kill her outright but he could do it if she wasn't careful.

"If you have a better suggestion short of asking Ruby for a spell that involves killing a virgin then I'm all ears for it," Angela countered.

"There might be a way."

The trio turned to see Falcon standing at the cave entrance. He had been listening to their conversation shamelessly about what to do next. He knew there was a way but that would involve delving into things that were a memory. He may have taken an oath to leave things as they were but now they were faced with a real threat.

Angela saw the look on Falcon's face. He knew something and she suspected it was a secret that he had been forced to keep for a long time. If he had a suggestion, maybe Romani magic might be able to help. Their burial rites certainly did. "Go ahead."

Falcon knew that there was one place she could go. "You have to go see one of the old Roma who knows our magic better than what we have here. You have to go see Harman."

Vera growled in frustration. She should have known that Absolution would have tried something simple like drain her powers. The bitch usually went with simple and it worked for her. That was the frustrating part and it showed as she paced around the hideout that she had taken refuge in.

"Your constant pacing is an annoyance."

Vera glanced at her companion with a look of hatred. "Then maybe you should have killed her when you had the chance," she spat out in a fit of anger. She couldn't understand the man that was just sitting there like nothing was wrong.

"Lilith wants her alive."

"You sure didn't hesitate when she almost had me," Vera countered. She had finally seen what that weapon Sam had been playing with could do. She had to admit that she had been scared of it.

"Following orders."

Vera scowled at the figure. He was so annoying at times and he always followed orders. She couldn't get him and he was supposed to be this big badass. "A-Man you're supposed to be this big badass. Why not have a little fun?"

"Because I know when to follow orders and when to loosely interpret them and don't call me that you little shit."

"You are a wet blanket." Vera growled in frustration. She wanted to kill Sam and she wanted to do it now. "I want Sam Winchester's head on a platter. I want it now."

"Then you should have been more conservative."

Vera watched as her companion went into a meditative pose. The guy had some creepy ass mojo working for him and yet what she had seen looked so simple. She went back to pacing. The charge up was really slow.

"Why not come up with a plan? You said you wanted to break Sam Winchester before killing him."

Vera sent a scowl and childishly stuck her tongue out at the back of her companion's head. She didn't care if he saw it or not. She could come up with a plan. As much as she wanted Sam dead, she also wanted him to suffer and that would make Lilith happy. She continued to pace but in a more thoughtful manner.

She knew that Absolution would move on once it was deemed clear. The woman had a bleeding heart the size of Kansas (pun intended) and she would rather keep innocents out of the way. So the question would be where would she go? The answer was more likely the mountain pass since her powers would be limited there since she liked to make a big show of it.

A thought then occurred to her. Absolution would seek out a means to counteract the phoenix fruit properties. There was one but she didn't know what that was. If she knew where she was going, then she could pick off one or both Winchesters and make Absolution come to her. It would be perfectly fitting for the occasion. The thing was to find out. She had an idea.

"You finally have an idea instead of bitching?"

Vera ignored the tone and smirked. She felt the need to be annoying and there was good reason to. She replied, "Indeed I have A-Man. Absolution would have to leave but it leaves for opportunity."

"You couldn't find her unless you had her scent."

"That is true but I am sure that there are other means of tracking her. Talk to people she's seen."

"You mean friendly persuasion that ends in death. That's too common even for you."

Vera continued to smile even though she wanted to rip her companion's heart out. That was if he even had one. She replied, "Surely there might be people on our side of the line that know her better. Maybe they would have given her information and the like?"

There was a slight pause as if he were considering the words. He then replied, "You mean the bottom feeders that know everything. Like they would tell you anything."

"Friendly persuasion A-Man. They will cave to that since they value their hides quite a bit." Vera paused to watch while her companion considered everything. The man never acted unless it was within the parameters of his orders. It certainly dampened any fun that could have occurred. Besides if this idea worked, she would be fully charged and ready to have her revenge. "Surely you know a bottom feeder Absolution would more likely talk to?"

Another lengthy pause occurred. It was enough to drive Vera crazy. It was ten times worse than when she was the right hand of Grace and that woman was the stickler for the rules. When this was done, she would have some payback with them and most especially little Gus. There was so much to do and so much opportunity.

"I know of one."

Vera grinned. Things were looking up. "Well come on then. Let's get him here and see what he has to say." She pushed on his shoulder to get him to move and ignored the look from the eyes that were underneath the hood. "We'll make Absolution come to us and we'll use Sammy to do it."

"So let me get this straight: this Harman guy is a Roma?"

"I thought he was more like me. He was a part of the group for a time and then moved on. It's not an uncommon thing," Angela replied to Dean's query as they started on the trek up the mountain.

They had to leave the Impala behind at the vehicle park since the only way up was a forest trail. That and to take the Impala through there was just asking for trouble. A person with an ATV would have better luck doing that. The nice thing was that the area belonged to the guy and it was well hidden so people wouldn't get too suspicious about it.

They had taken off as soon as Falcon told them to go see Harman. Angela thought he was nuts since the guy was an outsider like her and like he knew more intricacies about Romani magic. It was a surprise to find out that he was Romani and that he preferred to live alone in the woods like the crazy old hermit in the stories. Well that part wasn't too surprising. It was how she found him in the first place way back when.

What was on their mind was the fact that Falcon had been very evasive about Harman and how he could help. Angela picked up on fear quite easily. Even when masked she could see it since she was no stranger to fear. What Falcon had to fear was something she wasn't too sure on. The evasiveness told her that he knew something but was afraid to say something. He might know more than he was telling and there was the possibility that he couldn't say anything. She found herself scowling and cursing rules like that within groups. All that led to was confusion, pain and betrayal as well as a bunch of other emotions.

"I hate camping."

"Dude, it's just a hike and you didn't complain about that wendigo," Sam countered as he shot a look at Dean.

"Hey that was a hunt. This is more like a goose chase. How do we even know that this guy knows about this thing to beat that bitch?"

Angela intervened, "Harman taught me a bit about Romani magic. Mostly it was on burial rites and protections since I detest the smell of burning flesh." She paused to look around. They were on the right trail. It just looked longer than when they started.

"But you've giving hunter's burials before."

"That was back in the 1600s. Burning flesh gets to you and the great Chicago fire along with a few hundred others… the smell gets to you. The worst is when you're on a battle field like Gettysburg," she said as she continued forward. "Harman gave me my book and it's worked out. I haven't seen a demon riding hunter's I've buried using that."

Dean looked at Sam, "Is that why you said no burning?"

Sam frowned, "No. It just didn't seem right. I didn't know."

It was pointless to whisper since she could hear them. She could ignore them though and she let them bicker. She wanted to scream frustration too. It seemed that there were things that people didn't tell her and it still got to her. The last time it ended up being a fallout between her and a very good friend and since then, she was alone even though she called to him. He came back eventually but only for that one time. She was no stranger to that feeling.

They finally made it to the cabin and the look surprised them all. The expectation was something that a hermit would be hiding in meaning a ramshackle hut in the middle of nowhere. So far what they had seen was somebody who actually turned it into a sort of respectable house. It was a wooden cabin but more along the line of the fancy ones that inhabited the lakeside resorts. Angela could recognize the traditional Romanian paintwork on the windowsills and cleverly painted in were sigils to prevent invasion and detection.

Angela gave a slight hum. So the old man decided to finally settle down. When they first met, it was in a poor hamlet and the guy was living out of what she termed to be the predecessor to the station wagon. They were semi vague since he said that she was suffering from a high fever. Looking at it now she was a bit suspicious about it but as she pointed out to Dean, her body was still human in most respects. It responded to stimuli like a human. Hell she had a bout of hypothermia and it was like going through the worst of the flu.

"Huh. So this is it?"

"Looks like it," Angela replied as she looked around. There was nothing that stuck out at her in terms of the Spidey senses tingling. There wasn't even that unusual and thunderous silence that occurred. Still it would pay to be cautious.

"Okay, then let's get this over with," Dean said and strolled up the porch without a care in the world.

"Dean," Sam tried to get his brother to stop. They were going into unknown territory here. He had spotted a few of those Romani symbols he managed to catch a glimpse of back at the camp. Something told him that this guy was the kind to lay a few traps.

"Everything's fine Samantha," Dean said and that was before he disappeared beneath the porch.

Angela and Sam ran to the porch. The whole where Dean had fallen through was still there and the trap door was swinging. Sam shouted, "Dean!"

Angela looked around. Apparently Harman had gotten a little paranoid or he had something that both sides wanted badly and he wasn't taking any chances. She ran her forefinger along the hilt of her Beretta that she tucked in her coat. She looked down and called, "You down there Dean?"

"No I'm in New Mexico," Dean's voice echoed upward. "Now can you and Samantha get me the hell out of here?"

Angela gave a slight eye roll as she looked around. Meanwhile Sam was saying, "Yeah like we have rope out here."

"Then get into the basement or something. I thought you were the smart one College Boy."

That was an idea. The trick was to find the door to the basement and that was assuming Dean had fallen into the basement. Angela got to one knee and looked around. There was nothing out there to be used as a rope. She stood up and walked around looking for a way down to the basement. There was nothing she could see but that didn't mean that it wasn't out there and judging by the way the house was sitting, that meant that it was designed somewhat like a bi-level house meaning that there were stairs to go down. That meant going into the house.

Angela went back to the porch where Sam was arguing with Dean. She kneeled and said, "Can't find anything out here."

"Well then get your ass in here."

"Dean, I would have to do a B&E to get you out and judging by how the place looks, I'm going to have a hard time doing it," Angela shouted down.

Dean's reply was muffled when a growl came from behind her and Sam. Both turned to see a rather large Rottweiler looking at them. He was growling and drooling and sporting the kind of collar that would have said he belonged to a biker or a junkyard. It wasn't a mad dog but it wasn't the kind to mess around with.

Sam and Angela had no time to move for the thing lunged at them. Angela fell back and almost down the hole. She stopped herself from going in by spreading her arms and legs out to catch herself. It hurt but at least she was going down. The angle was awkward so it was going to be difficult to get back up without falling down.

The Rottweiler though caught Sam full in the chest and his fell through the door with a crash. He lifted his arms in defense to keep the really big jaws from snapping on him. He tried pushing but the thing was too heavy. He did the only thing he could do and that was to punch the thing in the head. The slight whine was enough to give him confidence to do it again even though he was reluctant to do so. He finally managed to get it to back off and he rolled to the side to get to his feet. The Rottweiler was pissed and began giving chase.

Angela was trying to get her leg out of the hole when Dean said, "What's going on out there? Angie? Sam?"

Angela grunted as she finally managed to angle her body so she could get out. She replied, "A little busy here Dean."

"What the hell are you doing up there?"

"Just trying to get out of a hole," Angela replied as she got out. It was a good thing too since Sam was about to be run down by the Rottweiler. She sighed at the prospect of doing the stupid act again but if she didn't do something, Sam was dog chow.

As soon as Sam came out the door of the cabin he jumped to the side to avoid the hole. The Rottweiler bounded out and forward and caught Angela in the chest. She grabbed a hold of the thing as they sailed off the porch. They hit hard but Angela had a good grip and wrestled the animal down until she was on top of him and she was muttering something. It stopped when she heard a gun click and someone said, "What the fucking hell are you doing to my dog?"

A/N: Looks like a plan has been formed on both sides and the trio goes to meet Harman only to meet trouble. What's next? Find out on Fire and Femme Fatale...