Last chapter was a little rough, I know... but hold my drink and watch this!
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Juliet came to the top of the stairs, trey of food in hand, courtesy of Mary Spencer. She had not known until that day that everyone on the farm/ranch was either a Spencer, or had a deep connection to one.
Juliet kicked the door twice with her foot lightly to let her know she was coming in. She had left the door open a tiny crack to allow herself easier entrance.
"I can't come to the door right now!" Shawn informed her as if she didn't already know. She rolled her eyes and entered the room, a smile on her face from his antics, even through his situation. "Hi Jules!" Shawn sounded surprised, his face beaming at the sight of her.
"Shawn, I've been gone for ten minutes." she giggled. She put the food trey over his lap and ruffled his hair before kissing him. "How are we feeling today?" Juliet asked hopefully.
"Feel like a green pineapple." Shawn replied happily.
"Meaning..." Juliet trailed off, not getting the joke. Shawn did have an odd sense of humor.
"I'm green and useless now, yellow and full of life with a world of possibilities ahead of me." Shawn motioned with his hands, making a rainbow arc. He even looked vibrant today.
Shawn pulled the top off the central platter, the Spencers being the eccentric kind of people to have too service grade food delivery. He pushed a plate identical to his towards Juliet, who looked at him thoughtfully. "Did you really think I could just sit here and eat in front of you, Jules? Come on son!"
"Shawn, did you just 'come on son' me?" Juliet watched suspiciously.
"Nope, no I didn't." he answered confidently. "Come on son." he said barely above a whisper.
"Shawn..." Juliet trailed off warningly.
"Shut up and eat, Jules." Shawn elbowed her playfully.
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Lassiter froze, not moving from the Impala. Death was on his face.
"Lassiter, who is that?" Dean questioned, watching the blonde woman in a suit walking their way with purpose.
"Dean, get out of here. She looks pissed." Gus suggested, strapping himself back in.
The woman was on the car before Dean could shift to reverse. She tapped on Lassiter's window, Lassiter rolled it down slowly, not making eye contact.
"Director Vick, ma'am. How are you this fine day?" Lassiter asked awkwardly, all of his gusto sucked out of him.
"It's raining, Agent Lassiter." Vick said a little grouchily. "Who are you're friends?" she smiled cheekily, though fake.
"I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in a..."
"That's enough, Guster." Vick ordered, peering at him under her black umbrella. "Agent Lassiter, you have a lit of explaining to do." she demanded. "Get inside. Now." Vick growled dangerously, pointing to the scene behind her.
Once inside and the four were alone, the door slammed and the questions began to pour.
"Why in the Hell are you bringing convicts with you to every single case I assign?" she was nearly screaming.
Lassiter stayed put and expected there to be more, but she waited expectantly. "No excuses, Director."
Karen sighed, Lassiter always the responsible soldier, willing to except punishment without complaint. "Carlton, I'm not looking for an excuse. You and O'Hara are good damn agents, and you still get the job done. I want to know WHY these two... where are Spencer and O'Hara?" she asked more frustrated than anything else.
"Spencer's laid up at his family farm after getting his ass kicked by a bronco and O'Hara's taking care of him." Lassiter answered speedily but unwavering. He then took a godly amount of time, explaining everything in excruciating detail with the occasional addition from Gus and Dean.
Karen stared at the men in front of her utterly speechless. "You want me to believe that THE Trio, just turned over a new leaf?" she finally asked in disbelief.
"They've been true to their word so far, Director. They've saved us considerable amounts of time and funding." Lassiter stood up for his unconventional colleagues.
"I had heard about it, seen tapes, but I just... I had to see it." Karen was still dumb founded.
"It worked out in Catch Me if You Can. That was based off a true story." Dean said, pointing at the chief as if it added affect.
"Um... what the Hell am I supposed to say to this, Carlton?"
"Pardon us." Gus threw out there. Give us a whopping fine and we'll pay it no sweat, let us be on our marry way back to helping Juliet and Lassiter."
"Before I even consider it, I'm going to need to see a sample of your abilities. I won't even think about it without proof you're worth anything. I need to see it personally, not word of mouth, and not on some gas station security camera."
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Travis sat on the bar stool, not much of a crowd with it being the afternoon. When the coast seemed clear, he made the call. "Yes, Mr. President, the plan worked. I drew them out, but they're not all here."
"What do you mean, they aren't all there?" The president asked smoothly, controlling his aggravation.
"Winchester, Guster and the one Fed are here. But Spencer and the blonde... I'm not seeing them." Travis paused before continuing. "The FBI Director, Karen Vick. She's here personally. I saw enter the crime scene with them and that was it."
"Your work has become very interesting, Mr. Fleming." the president of H & H said slowly. "I have seen fit to give you a task force, Mr. Fleming. This job cannot be expected to be handled by a single man. You will shortly receive information on your team."
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"What are you getting from the safe, Guster?" Carlton asked, watching Gus carefully.
"This vault wasn't cracked. It wasn't 'broken into'". Gus air quoted.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Vick copied his air quote.
"Come here please, Director, if you will." Vick moved closer and inspected the lock. "There's no visual damage to the lock. No cutting, no input spacing or drilling."
"You mean they cracked this puppy no hands?" Dean asked, removing the Robber's Bible from his leather jacket.
"What are you thinking, Winchester?" Lassiter looked over his shoulder.
"Uh, I remembered taking notes on an H & H device. It could fry or boost electronics with the right touch." Dean flipped through the pages until he found his newest entry. "We might want to call Anna on this one." Dean suggested.
"Who's Anna?" Vick asked, out of the loop.
"Annabelle Smith is a hot chick Lassiter hit it off with. She's the Chief Inspector of H & H Security." Dean informed her.
"I'll give her a ring and see who has that kind of equipment access." Lassiter stalked off to call up Anna.
"So..." Gus trailed awkwardly, not liking being without Lassiter in the face of Karen Vick.
"What's that little book you have there?" Vick asked Dean curiously.
Dean watched her suspiciously, not sure if he wanted to share his toy. "Why?" he questioned like a child.
"I'm just curious about your little Intel piece there, Mr. Winchester." Karen took the book from him with a smile. "Mr. Winchester, this is quite the notebook." Her eyes scanned the page, pleased with the context. "There are names here I haven't seen in three years." she said with a smile.
"Those are Gus's schematics." Dean pointed out, giving Gus his due.
"It was nothing. Experience goes a long way." Gus said with a pleased smile, flicking his nose like he does when he feels badass.
"What does Mr. Spencer bring to the table?" Karen asked, trying to decide what parts of this team were necessary and what parts were liabilities.
"Shawn... Shawn has what we know as the Sweetness. He has some of the oddest ideas you've never heard, and they usually work. He also has a very good eye for detail." Gus backed up his best friend, who couldn't be here himself.
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"Hello, this is Annabelle." Anna said happily into the phone.
"Anna, Carlton Lassiter." Lassiter replied in business fashion.
"Carlton! Great to hear from you!" Anna exclaimed into the phone with genuine glee. "What can I do for you?"
"We're having an issue on a case." Lassiter said a little down. "We were hoping you could give us a hand?"
"I'll what I can. What's up?" Anna was all ears.
"Guster believes we're dealing with some high level tech here. Winchester backed it up. H & H has a device that can either burn out or boost up the electronic rating of a device."
"Carlton, that hasn't even been tested yet. Who ever you're dealing with, has serious clearance. More than I have." The tone in her voice was serious, worried. "Be careful Carlton."
"I will. Thanks, Anna." Lassiter hung up and returned to the crew.
"Anything, Agent Lassiter?" Karen asked hopefully, but his face told a different story.
"Whoever pulled this job has major connections, it's got Annabelle on edge. They have more pull than she does." Lassiter tried not to sound too down.
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"Okay, thanks Carlton." Shawn heard Juliet say as she came back in the room.
"What's going on with the case? Dean slap somebody up?" Shawn questioned like he was on Speed. Again. His eyes shone with the will to get out there and hunt.
"The guys have quite a bit to chew." Juliet began to explain, taking her spot on the bed by Shawn. He had been able to move himself enough to make cuddling space. He needed the contact. "They found a guy with real resources. They consulted Anna on this one."
"Urgh!" Shawn groaned, raking his hands over his face. "I need to get out there, damn it! I'm dragging you down with me."
Juliet sighed and kissed his hand that she now held. "Think of it as your day off. It's like any job. The work still goes on and gets done while you have time off." Juliet explained, trying to make him understand he wasn't worthless.
"That makes sense actually." Shawn agreed.
"of coarse it does, I said it." Juliet replied sternly before laughing. "Just relax, and let me take care of you." Juliet climbed up on the bed and settled into what Shawn had began to call "the Nest". She began to become slightly disturbed when Shawn called her "mama bird". It was even worse when he cooed like a pigeon.
"So... I went through the available movie options. Why is it all Western movies and TV series, and the Star Wars saga?" Juliet questioned, a look of total 'why the Hell' on her face.
"Well Jules, the Western part just makes sense... and the Star Wars love is just a Spencer thing." Shawn cocked his head to the side. "Natalie Portman though, she's pretty"
Juliet cut him off without a single word. The thousands of knives in her stare was all she needed.
"Now it's your turn to relax Jules. I had my chance with Natalie and she blew it. But you... you have a shot to win it all." Shawn smiled at her and cupped her chin in his hand. "No one could ever hold a candle to you, Jules. And if anyone ever tries, I'll blow it out and hit them with it." Shawn whispered into her ear before kissing her neck.
Juliet had to giggle at how quickly he could go from sweet to just simply Shawn. That was part of the connection she guessed.
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"Lassiter." Carlton answered his phone simply.
"Hi Carlton. Any luck in the case?" Annabelle asked with legitimate interest.
"Haven't moved an inch. We have zero leads and no actual proof that we're right." Carlton kept calm and clear, where as the Trio would be pissed at the road block. "Are you just checking in, or do you have something to add?" Carlton found himself asking genuinely, not in the rude tone he would have asked Spencer.
"No, I don't." Anna's voice came back apologetically. "I just don't understand this. How could a bank robber be using our equipment that hasn't even been released? And a robber, damn it! How would they get it anyway? It's not like an item you can just get at Wal-Mart." Anna brainstormed allowed.
"Unless we're looking at an inside job." Carlton suggested slowly.
"That wouldn't make sense. If they have this level clearance, they don't need to rob banks because they're set for life. Only the president, vice president and Chief of Engineering could get at it."
"Anna, I think I need to talk to my Director."
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Yay for plot advancement! As a head's up, it'll be a while before the next update. I need to get back to The Rebuild 2, and some other various projects, so...