Law Dogs

(*sigh* Oh Seth)

Warning: Disturbing

Abigail was dead.

With a sigh like last the last breeze of autumn, her followers collapsed to the floor. All of them died that day, infected with her poisonous blood but without her presence to animate their bodies. Even Harper and Rowan. The Carcosa mine was now a charnel house.

Feeling like he was still caught in a nightmare, Seth realized he was the only person still upright. Everyone else was either dead or unconscious. The cavern was so quiet he could hear the pounding of his own heart. What was the worst was the fact that except for Bray, all of Abigail's followers had died with their eyes open and he felt like they were staring right at him, judging. For long seconds, Seth knelt among the accusing corpses and willed himself to wake up. A slight movement from the side caught his attention. Roman was stirring. Weak with relief, Seth staggered to his feet and over to him. His legs gave out when he reached Roman and he crashed back to his knees. With almost a sob of relief he asked, "Hey," his voice strained and soft. "You alright?"

Roman, who looked like he desperately needed a vacation, blinked up at Seth and pressed a hand to his forehead. His face was as white as a sheet except dark circles around his eyes. "I'll live," he said, his voice sounding like gravel. "You?"

"I'm fine," Seth answered, still fighting back tears. He swallowed and drew a breath, gathering his strength. Both Dean and Roman needed him to be strong and take the lead. "Cut me free?" he asked.

Still flat on his back, Roman bent his knee, reached into his boot and pulled out his bowie knife. Seth turned enough so Roman could reach up and slice the ropes binding his wrists.

"Thanks," Seth said, rubbing his wrists as he went to check on Dean.

Unbelievably, Dean was breathing steadily and the bleeding from deep gash on his arm and head had almost stopped. Seth gently bound his wounds with strips of cloth torn from a shirt he pulled off a corpse of an elderly man that he was careful not to look at too closely. When he was done, Seth turned back to Roman.

Roman still lay on his back and tried to breath through the pain of the latest beating, taking stock of his injuries. Bruised ribs and back, a swollen jaw, split lip and and the gunshot wound in his side. Mark stood nearby looking smug. "Not bad, kid. We have increased our number to four." Ignoring him, Roman hoped that Dean wouldn't wouldn't be too mad. Or shoot him. He was tired of getting shot. And beaten.

"I want to get out of here," Seth said softly. "Can you help me with Dean?"

Roman nodded and slowly got his feet under him. He ignored the pain as best he could and helped Seth lift Dean. With Dean hanging between them, they made their way through the tunnel out of the cavern. It was long and exhausting. Roman didn't complain but he had to leave Seth to take most of Dean's weight through the smaller tunnel. When they made it to the main tunnel, Roman was able to help again and they made better time.

Eventually, they made it out of the mine and cavern with its hundreds of corpses. Stepping out into the sunlight made the last little while seem unreal, like the fading memory of a nightmare. Seth turned his face up and let the sunlight wash over him through the trees. Nearby, the horses swished their tails at flies and occasionally stamped a hoof. Birds sang in the trees and the stream chattered to itself.

It was all so heartbreakingly normal.

Despite their injuries and exhaustion neither Seth nor Roman wanted to stay in the vicinity of Carcosa. They draped the unconscious Dean across his saddle, and riding slowly on either side, made it to their previous campsite by the stream and called it good. They got Dean settled into his bedroll, after waking him up to drink some water to help him with the blood loss. He promptly went right back to sleep without saying a word.

Roman went over to the stream to scrub the dried blood off his face. Removing his shirt, he almost fell in when a wave of dizziness washed over him. Grimacing in pain, he pulled the bandage off his side and inspected the wound. It was closing, which was good, but still hurt like a son of a bitch. He gritted his teeth and waited for the dizziness to pass.

Mark lurked nearby. "Get some rest kid, while you can," he advised.

"Were you even going to mention that to me?" Seth asked, appalled that Roman had been shot and didn't tell him.

Roman smiled, wan. "It'll heal," he reassured Seth.

Resisting the urge to strangle his friend, Seth ordered Roman to his bedroll. "Go lay down, right now. I don't need you passing out on me and have to try to drag your heavy ass back to the camp," Seth ordered.

"Bossy isn't he?" Mark observed.

Sending Seth a mocking salute, Roman rose to his feet but staggered. He steadied himself with an arm around Seth's shoulders. As soon as he hit the bedroll, Roman was asleep. Seth spent some time tending the horses, making some dinner and keeping watch over his friends. Both Dean and Roman slept all the rest of the day and through the night. Seth would stir the fire every once in a while, but mostly he just sat and thought and planned. There was so much to discuss when they woke up.

The next morning Seth, who had only dozed through the night, keeping watch by himself, woke up to birds' song. He started breakfast, hoping the other two had recovered enough to eat. Roman woke up a bit later and Dean was up soon after, roused by the smell of coffee. They ate breakfast without speaking, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Seth sat with an air of seriousness. "Ok, I need you guys to tell me exactly what is going on," he ordered. Dean shrugged and looked to Roman because he was still in the dark.

With the occasional comment from Mark, Roman explained everything about the Saint of Killers, the demon war, the dying killers who became soldiers, and his and Dean's new jobs. He told them about Mark's suspicions about Hunter, and the systematic decimation of the men fighting the demons. When he finished speaking, Roman turned to Dean and said, "Dean, I'm sorry. I made the decision to bring you in on this without your permission. You have every right to be pissed at me. But for what its worth, I'm glad you're in on this." And he was. He didn't feel so isolated anymore.

Dean waved the apology aside. "It was either accept or die, I know that. And I betrayed you first. So we're even I guess. But you're right, he really does look like Mark," Dean said.

"Is he here?" Seth asked.

Both Dean and Roman nodded.

"Won't be for long, though, Orton will be needing me soon." Mark looked between Roman and Dean. "Get some rest and heal up. You're going to provide Orton with back up. He will be facing the Nexus soon."

"Orton having trouble taking out a single demon?" Dean asked with derision. "What kind of creampuff is he?" Back in his day as a Marshal, Randy Orton had been considered sort of a golden boy. His confidence and ability had come off as arrogance and hadn't endeared him at all to his fellow Marshals. It didn't help that Hunter always seemed to be protecting him, which generated a huge amount jealousy and resentment from the other Marshals. Even though it had been before Dean's time, the anti-Orton bias was still prevalent among the deputies, made even worse now by his turning outlaw.

"Actually he's already killed twelve, but Nexus isn't a single demon. Its a collective. If even one demon gets away, it starts spreading again."

"So I take it he let one get away before?" Dean asked, the snark still evident in his voice.

"The one that got away was the one Swagger was pursuing," Mark snapped, his patience with the wisecracking running very thin. "Until some upstart Deputy Marshals killed him."

"Oh," Dean winced. "That's awkward."

"Nexus is very bad news. It took the combined efforts of Orton, Swagger and Edge to stop it last time. Now you two are going to help Orton. Besides, I need him to teach you two the ins and outs of demon hunting." Seeing their rebellious expression, Mark shook his head. "I can see this is going to work real well. Just try not to piss him off too bad."

"Where are you guys heading?" Seth asked. Roman and Dean had been helpfully informing Seth of everything Mark was telling them. Seth had put together much of it already, but the news about Nexus had him scowling.

"We're going to Helena to give Orton a hand," Roman said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. "What do you mean you guys? Aren't you coming with?"

Seth shook his head. "Obviously you and Dean aren't going back, but I need to." He held up a hand to forestall their protests. "You guys don't have the time to be Marshals anymore. Dean's time is about up anyway, but since you still have a few years left with the Marshal service, I'm going to tell Hunter you two are dead. As long as he believes that, he won't be sending anyone after you for desertion." Seth said. "And we need more information about Hunter's motives. Is he truly working to help the demons? Or is he just doing his job?" Even though Seth couldn't see him, Mark was nodding in agreement.

Dean snorted. He had made up his mind about Hunter's motivations a long time ago.

Roman knew that Seth was right. They needed someone who could stay close to Hunter to find out what the man was planning next, and hopefully stop him before more of Mark's meager band of soldiers were killed. He didn't like it, splitting up their group was an awful idea. But it was the best-case scenario for the time being. He was also a bit upset that his career as a US Marshal was over. He had always wanted to be in law enforcement. But now he was a soldier fighting for the future of the world. Which sucked honestly. No pressure there.

Nodding, Seth said "Alright. When I find out what Hunter's plans are I will give you two a heads up," he promised. He reached out with a fist, and was answered by two fists touching his. "Believe in the shield?" he asked.

Roman grinned as he nudged Dean's arm and got a sideways grin in return. "No. Believe in us."

Epilogue

Four days later in Virginia City, Capital of Montana Territory

Seth walked into Hunter's office and dropped two badges on his big oak desk, fighting the urge to glare at the judge. "Mission accomplished, sir," he said, his voice carefully neutral.

Hunter glanced up from the papers he was writing and considered the badges, then looked at Seth. "What happened?" His tone warned that insolence would not be tolerated.

Taking a deep breath, Seth forced himself to be calm as he told Hunter of the set-up at the way station, Dean and Wyatt's deal, capturing Harper and tracking the Wyatts to the cave deep in the Carcosa mine. He left out the part about Glenn and his outlaw friends, and any reference to Mark and Edge. And he absolutely did not tell him that Dean and Roman were on their way to meet up with Randy Orton as soldiers fighting for humanity against demons. He never once looked away from Hunter's eyes.

As Seth finished the tale, Hunter stood up and walked over to the cabinet next to the far wall. Opening it, he revealed a large bottle of liquor. He poured a shot which he offered to Seth, "Bourbon?" Seth declined. Hunter gulped the shot himself and poured another. He sat back down at his desk, looking tired. But Seth was watching closely and thought he caught a glimpse of deep satisfaction. He fought to control his rage and keep his face impassive.

"I'm sorry about Reigns and Ambrose. They were good men. I'm sure you did everything you could." Hunter almost sounding like he meant it. "What about you?" he asked. "Are you staying on?" Hunter's eyes bored into Seth's and Seth found he had to look away. His jaw muscles jumped. "Yes," he answered with no hint of uncertainty or second thoughts. "I'm staying on."

Breathing out, Hunter nodded to himself. "Fine. Good. Losing those two was a huge blow to law enforcement, and we need men now more than ever." Seth thought he was going to throw up at Hunter's condescending tone. Either that or hurl himself over Hunter's big stupid desk and start wailing away on the judge's face.

He was saved by a knocking on the door frame and they looked over at the man who walked in. "Perfect timing," Hunter said, not aware of how close he had come to getting his teeth knocked out.

Seth stepped back from the desk and studied the newcomer. He was big, not tall or fat but very stocky. He looked to be several years older than Seth, but younger than Hunter. His hair was cut very short and there was a no-nonsense look about him. His blue eyes and dimpled smile were friendly enough but everything about him screamed 'company man'. He was wearing a Marshal's badge but Seth had never met him before.

"Deputy Marshal Rollins, this is US Marshal Cena, sent by Supreme Court Justice Vince McMahon all the way from Washington D.C. He's here to help us with an ongoing problem." Hunter stood up and shook hands with the man. Cena smiled at Hunter as they shook hands, then smiled at Seth and extended his hand to shake.

"John," he introduced himself.

"Seth," Seth responded, almost dazed. Marshal John Cena was famous among law-enforcement for always getting the job done. He wasn't quite a legend like Ric Flair or Dwyane Johnson, but he would be someday. He never backed down and he never gave up. He always got the outlaw he was sent after. An uneasy feeling crept of Seth's spine.

Hunter cleared his throat and got their attention back on him. "Thank you for coming out here, Marshal Cena. I really appreciate your help on this."

"Not a problem, Judge. I'm always happy lend a hand." Cena said, he smiled at Hunter again with that easy confidence.

"I asked Vince to send you here because I think right now you are the only one capable of completing the assignment. And make no mistake, this is probably be the greatest challenge you will ever face." Hunter was dead serious. Seth's uneasy feeling grew.

John actually looked excited and his eyes sparkled. "You have my attention, sir. What do you need me to do?" he asked.

Hunter smiled back, but it was more of a baring of his teeth. A sadistic gleam filled his eyes. "You are going to track down and kill my former protégé and traitor Randy Orton."

The End

This concludes part I of the WWE Demon War saga: Law Dogs. The Shield boys' adventures continue as they fight to defend humanity against invading demons in part II: Legend Killer.

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to review and send encouragement my way. It means so much to have your support. ~ Belle