Supernatural Retaliation
Chapter THE SECRET IS OUT
Dean was startled awake from his nap by the vibration of his cell phone in his pocket. He stayed motionless for several moments, letting the phone ring and drown out his fast, heavy breaths. He had been having a nightmare.
"Hello, Dean?" the gruff voice said as soon as Dean brought the phone to his ear.
The hunter rubbed his heavy eyes. "Bobby—?
"Where's Sam?" Bobby quickly cut through Dean's greeting.
Dean's eyebrows furrowed together as he began to realize the implications of Bobby calling right after they had just left him. "Uh, I think he's takin' the kiddo out to lunch."
"Wha—? Where?"
"Little diner on the south side of town," Dean answered cautiously. "Bobby, what's this about?"
"I don't really know," the older man answered simply. "I was pickin' up some food for dinner and I just saw Sam and Ruby pass me on the highway. They were drivin' your car, and they were headed west."
"My car—? Ruby?" Dean sputtered. "He's lettin' that bitch ride shotgun in my car?"
"That's not the point I was tryin' to emphasize, boy. They're headed west."
"And...?" Dean drawled. "Wanna tell me the reason you're calling?"
"They're. Headed. West," Bobby repeated harshly. "The kid lives east of here. I can't believe I figured this out before you! How could you be so stupid?"
"Here's an idea," the younger hunter began sarcastically, "how 'bout you tell me what I did wrong before punishing me for it? As a kind of positive reinforcement."
"Boy, you better get your ass out of that damned motel," Bobby ordered, anger flaring at Dean's attitude, "if you want to feel any bit of normalcy after your deal with that demon comes to an end." Dean made a face into the phone, but, since Bobby couldn't see him, the older hunter took the silence for a cue to keep going. "Don't you see?" he asked. "You're not the one in danger anymore."
"In danger from what?"
"From the deal!" Bobby all but shrieked. Sometimes, Dean was too dense for words. "Sam asked me earlier if...if i thought it was okay to trade a soul for a soul. To trade an innocent soul for your safety. Dean," he continued, seriously, "why the hell else would Sam have ever allowed a kid to come with you two?"
And suddenly, it all made sense. Dean's furrowed eyebrows unlocked and rose as his eyes widened.
"Oh no," he whispered into the receiver. "No he didn't. He wouldn't—Sam would never—"
From where he was in his rusty pickup truck driving down the highway, Bobby sighed. He knew that Dean knew that after he had been brought back to life, neither of them had trusted Sam completely. He had finally gotten through to him.
"No!" Dean cried, practically dropping his phone. "Shit! Shit!"
From the highway, Bobby heard his line go dead after the loud snapping of a cell phone being slammed shut, if it was possible.
Dean bit his lip as he reopened his phone and pressed and held his number one on speed dial.
"Hello?" Sam's voice answered. Dean heard Metallica banging away in the background.
"Sam, tell me the truth," Dean said slowly in a low voice. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, to Danny's house," Sam answered in a confused tone Dean knew was fake, "like Bobby told me to. Look, I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye, but—"
"His house is the other way."
"Excuse me?" Sam asked like Dean was crazy. But Dean didn't miss the guilty gulp his brother had taken.
"His house," he said even slower than before, "is the other damned way."
"I don't understand—"
"Bobby saw you on the highway!" Dean yelled into the phone. "You and Ruby! He told me what you were up to, what you were going to do. You're going to try to trade someone for me!"
"Uh, look, um—...," Sam spluttered. "No, I'm not. We're going to his house."
"Don't you give me that!" Dean was using his loudest voice, now. "Why else would you have wanted Danny to come with us? Why else? Damn it, Sam, you're lucky. So damned lucky." Sam didn't answer, and Dean went on. "You're lucky that you're stupid. That crossroads Demon won't take that kid! What the hell were you thinking? That you could trade a Winchester for some kid? That no one would notice a scrawny little kid just disappear? That demon won't take him."
And then finally, Sam acknowledged Dean with the truth. "But I know she will," he said quietly. "Ruby told me she will."
"How the hell can you trust Ruby?" Dean exploded. Every swear word he knew went into his cell's receiver. "I hate you!" he cried finally. "How could you do this? Don't you dare go anywhere near those Crossroads. I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you if you do."
"Dude, I can't hear you," Sam said in a fake upset voice. "I think I'm breaking up. I'll call you later, Dean."
But Dean could hear Sam just fine. "Don't you dare. Don't you f—" There was a snap of plastic hitting plastic and the line went dead.
Dean stood in shock with the phone still to his ear for a second before he shoved it into his pocket. "That bitch!"
He bolted from the motel room, his mind set on one thing: stopping his brother.
When he reached the parking lot, he searched for a bus stop. The moment he saw one across the street, he sprinted in its direction. But as soon as he stepped onto the tar pavement of the road, a blaring car horn made him jump backwards in surprise. Dean let it pass before trying to jaywalk a second time. This time, he made it as far as the middle of the road before he was hit by a car with screeching brakes. Thankfully, it had slowed down enough that Dean wasn't thrown backwards and run over. Instead, he fell forward onto the polished white hood of the Jaguar, smacking the side of his face and barely missing the little silver, pointy cat that motionlessly leapt from the front of the car.
Ignoring the blaringly loud honking of the car and the angry words of its owner, Dean turned his head and caught sight of the bus stop sign:
Greyhound
Hourly Bus
He looked down at his watch. It was three twenty-five. If the bus only came every hour, he would have to wait thirty-five minutes before catching the next one. Not gonna cut it, he thought to himself. I need a better….
His thoughts trailed off as he suddenly took notice of the car driver who was cussing him out. An old man, driving alone in a tidy Armani suit.
Dean peeled himself from the car before he walked around the hood to the tinted window. "I am so sorry, sir," he apologized sincerely as it slid open. The man gave him a look that practically told him that he damned well should be before Dean continued. "I've always had a thing for luxury cars."
The man's eye's widened in silent confusion before Dean reached through the window and opened the car door.
"Wha' the hell 're you—" the old man spluttered in a heavy southern accent and Dean grabbed a fistful of his pristine oxford shirt.
The man screamed as Dean pulled him out of the car and threw himself inside. The hunter didn't wait to hear the man's screams of protest and alarm, but sped off through the red light ahead.
-
Dean gripped the wheel tightly and kept his eyes glued to the road.. "Let's hear what old farts listen to. He briefly tore his gaze away from the road to press the power button. As soon as he did, country music blasted so loudly, that he was surprised the windows didn't shatter. But that didn't stop him from screaming. He quickly turned down the volume and adjusted the tune button to a station he liked much better, the 106.6 Hard Rock Jam. He leaned back in his seat, admiring the softness of the leather as it molded to fit his back. As soon as he had reached the town limits, he dug his foot into the accelerator.
"Let's see how fast this baby can really go."
-
"Oh no!" Danny cried suddenly, startling Sam and Ruby as Sam snapped his cell phone shut.
"What?" he asked stiffly. "What's wrong?"
"I just remembered what I forgot to do," the boy said sadly. "I forgot to tell Dean goodbye."
"Oh," Sam said, letting out a relieved breath. The fact he was damning the kid sort of made him a little uptight. "I know, it's okay. I told him goodbye for you. We're… kind of in a fight right now."
"How'd you guys have time to get into a fight before you took me to lunch?" Danny wondered. Sitting in the shotgun seat, Ruby rolled her eyes. Like Danny's instincts told him not to trust her, her instincts made her feel very agitated around the boy. She had grown tired of his naivety almost immediately.
"Shut up, twerp," she growled tiredly, looking out the front window.
"Ruby," Sam chastised. To Danny, he said, "It's just something that Bobby said to him. Dean gets angry at the weirdest things. It's nothing, really."
Danny nodded silently, and continued staring at the trees and rocky terrain, observing that he didn't recognize a single thing that flew past his window.
Sam's phone rang a second time, but this time, Sam didn't answer it. He smiled embarrassedly at Ruby and Danny before turning it off.
"Just Dean," he explained and Danny frowned.
-
"Why isn't he answering his damned phone?" Dean growled over his music. He threw his cell phone angrily at the empty seat next to him. Checking the car's GPS system, he heaved a sigh at the amount of time he had until he reached his destination. "Only two more flippin' hours to go," he whispered.
A/N: Thanks so much for reviewing guys! I hope you liked this chapter even though it was short and written in like ten minutes. Hope it's not rushed, I didn't read back through it. For some reason, I really like it when the Winchester brothers fight.
Oh, and as for last chapter, I'm sorry for the Vlad/Maddie thing. I just thought, you know, it would make it more realistic. It can't always be happy-go-lucky in Danny's world, especially now that he's older.