Jessica, Part XI

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bank of Wisconsin:

"Another shapeshifter? I hate these things," says Dean, looking down at the pile of skin and clothes lying on the floor of the bank manager's office.

"This isn't the work of a man droid?" asks Ronald.

"No Ronald, it isn't," replies Dean, grimacing at Ronald before heading over to the desk. He picks up a silver letter opener.

"Hey wait, what are you doing with that?" asks Ronald, looking nervously as Dean twirls the opener around his fingers.

"Silver. It's the only thing I've seen that hurts them."

Dean turns and leaves the office, heading into the main part of the bank. He is interrupted by Ronald's laughing. Dean looks at him in confusion.

"Are you nuts?"

"That's just it. I'm not nuts."

"What?"

"I was so sure I was losing my marbles, but this is real. I was right. Except for the man-droid thing, thank you," he says, smiling at Dean.

"Yeah, don't mention it. Come on Ronald. We need to find Sam and Jessica," he says.

They are interrupted when the lights go out, and the electricity cuts out.

"Damn it, no, no, no!"

"What is it?"

"The cops. They cut the power. Probably their way of saying hi. It's not looking good Ronald."

The two men head into the main part of the bank where they find Jessica and Sam waiting for them.

"So what's going on?" asks Dean.

"Everyone is locked in the vault. Dean, what's happening?" asks Jessica. She doesn't like this one bit. She's been in some sketchy situations with the Winchester boys before, but this is a brand new level of sketchy.

"We need to work out what we're doing here," says Sam. His attention is soon taken by police spotlights invading their space, and a multitude of sirens blaring outside.

"Great. You know, Dean, you are wanted by the police. Even if we do find the shapeshifter, how do we get out of here?"

"One problem at a time. We need to find this shapeshifter first. Sam and Jessica, you stay with Ronald and help him manage the situation. . . . "

Dean stops talking when he notices Sam glancing behind him, with an annoyed look on his face. When he turns around he finds Ronald standing in the middle of the police light streams with his rifle pointing to the windows.

"Ronald! Out of the light!" Dean hisses, fearing that Ronald is going to get himself shot.

"Seriously?" says Sam, his annoyance reaching epic proportions.

"We just need to make the best of this," says Dean, before heading upstairs to give the place a once over.

Jessica stands outside the vault with Ronald and her boyfriend, her heart pounding through her chest. They have opened the vault door a little so the people inside can breathe a little easier.

Her attention is taken when the phone rings. Ronald answers the phone, soon fumbling through the conversation with the police. Sam grabs the phone and hangs up, telling Ronald not to speak with the authorities.

Jessica is more interested in the elderly security guard in the vault, who seems to be having problems breathing.

"We need to get him out of here Sam," she says quietly. He takes a look inside the vault to see that the man is in real trouble. He's clutching his chest and breathing very heavily. Sam rings the authorities, telling them that they need an ambulance.

~ * ~

Meanwhile, Dean has discovered the body of one of the men he recognises from the vault. Now he knows the identity of the shapeshifter. When he returns downstairs he confronts the man, who manages to get away. Ronald chases after him, but ends up standing under the police lights again. This time, it ends tragically when he is shot dead by a sniper.

Jessica and Sam move away quickly, leaving Dean with Ronald.

"Sorry Ron. You did a real good job tracking this thing, you really did," says Dean, taking his gun. He hates to leave Ronald's body lying there, but there is nothing he can do about it at the moment.

~ * ~

Dean helps the elderly security man out the front door. He gets to see firsthand what is happening outside, and for the first time he realises just how much trouble they are in.

The man who will become the bane of the Winchester and Moore team comes onto the scene, taking over the police activities. He is FBI Special Agent Victor Hendrickson.

He gets on the phone with Dean, eager to announce his game plan.

"It's my job to bring you in. Alive is a bonus, but not necessary. I want you and Sam out here, unarmed, or we come in. I know about the murder in St Louis, I know about the Houdini act you pulled in Baltimore. I know about your dad."

"You don't know crap about my dad. He was a hero."

"Yeah, sure sounds like it. You have one hour to make a decision or we come through those doors, full automatic."

Dean hangs up the phone, his blood pumping fast through his veins. He's stuck, and he's beyond scared.

Jessica finds Dean standing by the vault door.

"Dean, what's going on?"

"This has just been given a violent shove into serious. We need to end this, now," he says, walking past her.

They eventually find the new inhabitant of the shapeshifter. It's now posing as a pretty bank teller. The shapeshifter goes after Jessica, but Dean intervenes. The shapeshifter goes after Dean, but he manages to fight back and stabs her in the chest with a silver letter opener.

By now the bank is swarming with the SWAT team. Sam manages to fend three off, knocking them unconscious. He takes their uniforms and gives one each to Dean and Jessica, keeping one for himself.

They manage to get out of the building without any bother, thanks to their disguises.

When they get back to the Impala, the only thing Dean can utter is, "We are so screwed."

Jessica couldn't have put it better herself.