To Ottawa (Guest Reviewer): I am so so sorry for not thanking you the last couple of times. I always love seeing your reviews and I'm really sorry I forgot to reply. I think the week I had of when I was all got me all out of sync and I forgot to add a reply to the guest review after I'd replied to the other reviews. Sorry again and thanks for always reviewing, it really does make me smile. xxx
Michael woke slowly. He was so tired he was tempted for a moment to go straight back to sleep. But then he remembered the Hunters and Lucifer and all the problems he had to face and knew he didn't have the luxury of a lie in. He rose awkwardly, limbs heavy and uncooperative and dressed slowly. He glanced at the clock as he was dressing and was surprised to find it was already past nine. He'd overslept by over two hours. The realisation was a crushing weight as he thought of all he needed to do and all he could have achieved in those two hours he'd been sleeping.
He didn't have the time for breakfast but he was still half asleep and today he'd need a strong coffee before he could function fully. When he entered the kitchen he was surprised to find Gabriel and Raphael were there, Gabriel leaning against the counter, looking well if a little annoyed, and Raphael standing in front of him with his back half to Michael. They were discussing something in low voices but both looked up and immediately stopped talking when he came into the room which was a little disconcerting. Neither spoke as he began making the drink and by the time he was pouring the coffee into a mug the silence had become almost deafening. It didn't help neither of them would make eye contact with him, Gabriel stayed leant against the counter staring straight ahead with a distant expression while Raphael sat down at the table and began reading a sheath of stapled papers.
Though Michael was sure neither sibling would be surprised by Michael leaving for his office with his coffee he sat down at the table anyway. If Michael had expected this to garner some kind of reaction from either of the two he would have been disappointed. Raphael turned flipped a page of the document but didn't act as though he had noticed Michael sitting at the same table as him. Michael drank his coffee in the stony silence as he tried to work out why both his siblings were giving him the cold shoulder. By the time he'd finished his coffee Michael no closer to figuring out what he'd done to upset his siblings but he was more irritated. He'd already lost two hours of his day and he didn't want to lose any more due to his siblings childishness. Since neither seemed to have anything more productive to do than ignore him he may as give them tasks to get on with.
"Raphael I'll need you to compile a list of - are you listening?" Raphael looked up from the papers with a sarcastically apologetic look.
"Sorry did you want something?" he asked in a bored voice. Michael was taken aback. He was used to this kind of attitude from Gabriel, he was used to all kinds of attitude from Gabriel, but Raphael had always been fairly deferential and had always acted like he was above all that. He was calm and logical and didn't give people the cold shoulder or act like a child. There were times he'd adopted a more childish attitude with Gabriel but even then most of the time Raphael preferred to act rationally and logically in an attempt to gain some kind of ground over the more juvenile Gabriel.
"I-" Michael started before breaking off nonplussed. "Have I done something to upset you?" he asked eventually.
"Well now you mention it -" Raphael began. He voice was cold and disinterested and Michael couldn't help but be surprised. Raphael had always looked up to him, always agreed with him, never once questioned him. It was arrogant of Michael to assume that that would always be the case, but he had and now Raphael's sudden dissent was hurtful. It was annoying too, why did Raphael choose now to start questioning Michael's authority, now when Lucifer and the Hunters were already both competing to see who could bring him down first.
"Are you out of your mind?" Gabriel cut in, near yelling, the words tight and furious. Michael was surprised at Gabriel's outburst; in trying to compute Raphael's sudden anger with him he'd forgotten Gabriel was in the room. He swivelled in his chair to stare up at Gabriel who was still leaning back against the counter with his arms folded and a irate expression.
"I'm sorry?" Michael asked, still unsure exactly what was upsetting his siblings.
"Raphael told me you called him and asked him to find out who the leader of the Hunters was. Not so that you could gather information on his background to put us in a better position to fight them. No you wanted their phone number to set up a meeting with them. I'll say it again: Are you out of your mind?!"
If Raphael's anger had been bad Gabriel's cold fury was somehow worse. Gabriel was warm and impulsive, and when he got annoyed he became fiery: he'd never seen Gabriel cold. Gabriel shouldn't be cold. Raphael was the cold one, the logical one, the one who's anger was cold. But when Michael turned back to Raphael he saw a dangerous fire burning in Raphael's eyes. The switching of personalities made Michael uncomfortable, as anything that was out of place or unusual made him uncomfortable. It also hurt that he'd upset them enough to throw them out of character but he chose to ignore that as best he could.
"I-" Michael said but he didn't get very far before Raphael cut in.
"He's got a point Michael. Why are you trying to meet with the people who would like nothing better than to see you hung, drawn and quartered?"
"I-" Michael tried.
"No it's fine Michael. You don't have to justify yourself to us. We're used to never knowing what you're doing or why. Go get yourself killed." Gabriel said frostily. Michael closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't react. Reacting would get them hurt, displays of affection and emotion got his siblings hurt. He had to remember that.
"That's enough!" Michael snapped. "You are right, I do not have to justify myself to either of you. I am going to meet with John Winchester and while I am gone I expect you both to do your jobs." he rose and left the room, storming up to his office and slamming the door behind him.
As Michael walked into the Roadhouse he began to wonder if this had been such a good idea. Tactically he supposed it wasn't optimal. But he'd seen no other option, if the Hunters were hell bent on the destruction of everything Michael had worked so hard to maintain then Michael needed to make sure certain pieces on his side of the board were out of the game from the start. It was too late to plea innocence on behalf of Raphael or Gabriel, he'd just have to try and protect them the best he could. But Anna, Balthazar and Castiel didn't need to be involved.
Ellen nodded at him from behind the bar and he gave her a courteous nod in return as he made his way over to a table in the corner of the room. He sat down opposite the stranger, enjoying the look of surprise on John Winchester's face.
"John Winchester I presume?" Michael asked, though he knew full well that the person opposite him was John. He stared at John, assessing him. He was middle-aged, well built and in good shape. He was a fighter, that was apparent from his posture and the scar that was half covered by his collar. He looked tense and ready for a fight, his eyes narrowed at Michael and expression full of mistrust.
"How did you know?" John asked. Michael smiled and gave a half shrug.
"You were the only person in the room I did not recognise." Michael answered simply. Which was curious actually. When Michael had phoned John and asked to meet him at the Roadhouse he'd firmly suggested both parties come alone and John, to his surprise, had agreed easily. Michael had assumed that John would bring some people along anyway and had them sit in another part of the room, just for security. It's what Michael had done, from his seat he could clearly see Zachariah and Uriel sitting a little way away. It was a little worrying, he'd not thought John the type to meet his opponent without backup which made Michael wonder where John's back-up were.
"What did you want to talk about that couldn't be said over the phone?" John asked. Straight to business then.
"You want to take on my Family. I understand why, though I can assure you we are different but since there's nothing I can say that will convince you we are not like the other Family's you have encountered I won't waste both our time."
"Fair enough. I take it you didn't bring me out here just to tell me that?" John asked a little impatiently.
"I will fight in defence of my Family and for my control of this city." Michael stated. He thought this would be obvious but he wanted to make his position clear. He had to know John knew exactly what he was getting into. Michael hadn't lost yet, not when it came to defending his family and he did not intend to lose this time. John had to understand that Michael destroyed him and his fellow Hunters it was because of John, and John's decision to keep threatening Michael's family.
"Again fair enough."
"And there are some rules I'd like you to abide by." John laughed incredulously at Michael's words.
"Rules?" he asked. Michael held up a hand to stop him speaking. John looked surprised at the imperious gesture as though people did not usually signal for him to shut up in such a way.
"Hear me out. I only ask that you stick to rules already in place for the protection of the people who live here." John's eyes widened in surprise and then he frowned.
"Tell me the rules boy and then I'll decide if I'm going to stick to them." Michael bristled at the word 'boy' but struggled not to show it.
"There are neutral areas. The Roadhouse is one of them. The Hospital is another. Within these areas there is no fighting of any description be it physical, passive aggressive or any other style, allowed, under any circumstance." Michael began.
"That's-" John paused, trying to find the right word, "reasonable, I guess." Michael could see the beginnings of something like grudging respect in John's eyes. Michael wasn't under any illusions, John still thought Michael and all Michael stood for was despicable but it was a victory to have his respect. His respect was what was likely to prompt him to agree to spare the younger three.
"The school is another neutral zone." Michael continued, "I am sure you can agree that no one wants their children dragged into a fight." John had two boys, Michael knew. He hoped John's parental side would force him to agree to this rule easily.
"Aside from the neutral zones the only other rule I'd have to impress upon you is that no one under the age of eighteen should be involved in any of our disputes. Nor should they be hurt, targeted or coerced into joining a side."
"Can I ask why you've put these rules in place?" John asked. Michael thought it was deliberate he was choosing not to react to the rules Michael had stated. He was sure John saw them as logical, necessary even. But admitting that would seem like letting Michael win.
"Because, believe it or not, I want to protect the people who live here as best I can." Michael answered truthfully. John seemed incredulous again.
"I don't believe it." John answered, "But if you're done I'll be taking my leave."
"I have one more request."
"Request? Not an order or a rule?" John looked amused, "What could you possibly want from me your highness?" he added sarcastically.
"I have siblings as you are no doubt aware. Even if you do stick to the rules I've set for this city, you may decide that the rules shouldn't apply to my family. I want you not to harm my youngest three siblings, they've never been involved in anything this Family has done and they haven't even left school yet. I understand if you do not want to extend this courtesy to me, but I know you have sons and I can promise you that none of my men will harm them. I only ask that you do the same in return." Something protective flared in John's eyes as soon as Michael mentioned his children.
"How do you know about my boys?" he demanded.
"I know about Sam and Dean the same way I imagine you found out about Anna, Balthazar and Castiel." Michael replied simply. He stood and took a folded sheet of paper out from his inside jacket pocket.
"A list of the neutral zones in this city. Just in case. Goodbye John Winchester." And with that Michael took his leave, nodding at Ellen on the way out.
He was surprised at how well the meeting had gone. Raphael and Gabriel's panic that morning had made him nervous and he'd ended up expecting the worst, a show down or a shoot out. Yet everything had played out perfectly and Michael had every confidence John would leave the younger three alone. He'd done all he could to protect them for now and so it was time to turn his attention to to other matters. As Michael slid into the backseat of the car pulling his phone from his pocket. He'd temporarily taken control of countering the Hunters attack from Raphael while he met with John Winchester but now the meeting had been a success it was time to hand the reigns back over to his brother, as much as that pained him, so he could focus on Lucifer.
When he went to dial Raphael's number he noticed he had a number of missed calls and several voice-mails. He stared at the phone, surprised. He'd silenced the phone so he wouldn't be disturbed in the meeting, even turning off the vibrate. He'd incorrectly assumed that nothing could happen in the few short hours he'd been gone that would be important enough to need his attention right away. Apparently he'd been wrong. He dialled the number listen to the voicemails, worry and guilt setting in. What if John meeting with Michael had been a distraction and someone had been trying to warn him?
The first voicemail was from Raphael. It was short and sarcastic, and began by asking him if John Winchester had killed him yet and ended with Raphael commanding him to call him back in a terse and irritated voice. The next voicemails were also from Raphael and the content was similar though Raphael sounded less sarcastic and more distressed each time. Michael clicked to listen to the penultimate voicemail with a feeling of dread he couldn't shake.
'Michael it's regarding Gabriel can you please phone me back?' Michael's heart sank like a stone as he waited for the final voicemail to play. When Raphael's recorded voice came through the speakers it was thick with fear.
'I'm at the hospital.' was all Raphael said before the phone went dead.
Thanks for reading and see you all Friday!
xxx