Chapter 38

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Benny, Len, and I, as well as several other officers from the community, interviewed just about everyone in the neighborhood at the time of Dean's abduction, but no one admitted to seeing anything useful. No amount of intimidation, begging, or even bribery could get any of them to divulge what they might know. The most we uncovered was when a resident grudgingly mentioned that the one Good Samaritan who did try to help Dean got gunned down by Alastair's brutes for his trouble, leaving everyone else too afraid of sharing his fate.

Ash's search of the surrounding buildings proved equally fruitless—there was no sign that any of the abandoned factories, warehouses, or stores had been occupied recently by any creatures other than pigeons, rats, and the occasional homeless person. None of the businesses in the area had security cameras pointing at the lot or even the street, nor did any of the intersections in this part of town have traffic cameras. The crime scene techs took photographs, collected blood samples, shell casings, and other evidence, and towed the Impala away for processing, but any information they could gather would take time. And time was something we didn't have to spare, not when my lover was in the hands of a sadist like Alastair.

Frustrated at the lack of progress, I eventually left the scene and drove to the Security Commission's building. I went straight up to the third floor and barged into Meg's office, ignoring the protests of the receptionist. Meg looked up in surprise when I slammed the door open and quickly ended the call she was making.

"Do you know where Alastair is?" I demanded without preamble.

"No, I don't. In case you hadn't noticed, it's not my job to keep tabs on his creepy ass," she responded. "Why do you need to know anyway?"

"He kidnapped Dean this afternoon. Remember the conversation you caught sight of between him and Ruby at the reopening? He apparently convinced her to send a text from my phone to lure Dean away from the restaurant to a spot where his lackeys could ambush him," I explained. "Benny and other officers are still investigating the area, but so far they haven't turned up anything."

"Well, fuck me! Hold on for a minute." She picked up the phone again. "Hi Lily, it's Meg. Is the boss in? Some moron just dumped a load of paperwork on my desk that needs his signature like yesterday . . . Uh huh . . . Crap! D'ya know when he'll be back? . . . Listen, I really need to get in touch with him ASAP. Any chance that you know where he went? . . . Alright, thanks. Guess I'll try to catch him tomorrow then."

Meg hung up and looked back at me. "According to his assistant, Alastair left the office a little after noon and told her he'd be out for the rest of the day. He didn't tell her where he was going, and to quote, she 'knows better than to ask him questions.' Given that this wasn't a lawful seizure, it's not likely that he put Dean in one of the holding cells here, but lemme check to be sure."

I waited while she first searched on her computer and then made another call. When she shook her head, I then asked, "Would there be records of some other facility Alastair might use to . . . question people? It's been rumored that others have been grabbed without legitimate cause before, though not as blatantly as this. So there has to be somewhere unofficial he takes them."

"If there is any info here about someplace off the books, it's not gonna be easy to find," she said dubiously. "That level of access is gonna be above my paygrade, and I'm no computer whiz."

"I've got someone I can call in, as long as you don't mind him coming here." Once she nodded, I pulled out my phone and made a call. "Hey Ellen, is Ash still with you? I need him to join me right away to hack into some files. I'm at the Security Commission building, in Meg Master's office."

"I'll tell him to leave right now. You want to bring Charlie in on this too?" Ellen asked. "Two computer experts have gotta be better than just one."

I hesitated momentarily before answering. "I'd rather hold off on that unless Ash really needs the help. Charlie's still vulnerable if she gets made, given her position in the community. Whereas Ash is literally a free spirit, so there's not much these guys could do to him—assuming they can even catch him."

"Alright then. I'm sending Ash your way—he should be there in a few minutes. Lemme know when you find something." She then hung up.

I turned back to Meg. "My friend should be here shortly. Listen, are you sure you're okay with this? You could wind up in a lot of trouble if Alastair finds out you're involved."

She shrugged. "We demons generally don't give a shit about right or wrong, but there are still things we believe in. I took this job because I care about our community, about what we've built here, and I want to do my part to keep it safe. But I'm not here to pander to the ego and whims of some delusional asshat! The Security Commission provides valuable service to the community, and I'm not letting Alastair bring it down. Plus I kinda like you big lugs.

"Besides, he doesn't scare me. He may think he's the big bad dungeon master here, but I've gone toe-to-toe with bigger and badder than him and lived to tell the tale. I suspect that if anyone's gonna land in the frying pan because of this, it's not gonna be me. Alastair's gone too far this time, and I don't give him good odds for coming out in one piece." She crossed her arms and smirked.

"Not once I'm through with him!" I added grimly. I paused as the temperature abruptly dropped and waited for Ash to materialize. "Meg, this is my friend Ash, who's a genius with computers. Ash, this is Meg. Don't hold working here against her!"

"Well, hello there! I don't think I've ever met a sentient ghost before. I thought all earthbound spirits were either completely nuts or stuck in some kinda endless loop," Meg commented, extending a hand.

Ash shook it enthusiastically. "Nice to meetcha! Sam's a pretty good judge of character, so I'm gonna assume that you're an okay dude—or dudette, as the case may be—if he says so. And yep, I'm one of a kind! Now, whaddya got for me?"

"I need you to search for any hidden files Alastair may have, particularly any information about properties that aren't listed in the Commission's official documents. He must have somewhere that he takes people when he wants to stay off the record," I explained. "Meg can give you access to the network here so you can work your magic."

"Right on! Fortunately I brought my rig, and she's loaded for bear." He pulled out his homemade laptop out of the bag he was carrying, and Meg cleared off a corner of her desk.

"Once he gets hooked up, I'm gonna check the holding cells myself, just in case someone down there was trying to gimme the runaround earlier," she stated. "I still doubt Dean's there, but we oughta be sure before ruling it out completely."

"I dunno how long this is gonna take, dude, so you might not wanna hang out here and wait," Ash said as he set his computer up. "I can give you a holler as soon as I find something pertinent."

"Good idea, Ash. I'll head back to my place to work the search from another angle. Call me the moment you get anything we can use." I nodded to both of them before leaving the office.

On my way home, I called Crowley. "Hey man, can you and Rowena meet me at my apartment right away? It's very urgent!"

"Hullo, Moose. What's the matter now?" From the background noise, it appeared that Crowley was at his club.

"Alastair abducted Dean a few hours ago—Ruby helped draw Dean away from Harvelle's with a bogus text from my phone, and then some of Alastair's goons grabbed him," I informed him. "I need both of your help to scry where he is now. Benny and the other cops are investigating the scene of the attack, and I also have Ash and Meg searching the computer files at the Security Commission."

"Bloody bastard! I'll fetch Mother and be at your door momentarily."

I hung up and pulled into the parking garage. Upon reaching the apartment, I quickly changed out of my suit and then made the one call I'd been putting off for the past several hours.

"Singer Salvage. What can I do you for?"

I took a deep breath. "Bobby, it's Sam. Dean . . . Alastair has him."

"Balls! What the hell happened?" The worry in Bobby's voice was evident.

"The sonofabitch used Ruby—convinced her to send a text from my phone to get Dean away from the restaurant earlier this afternoon. Then his thugs jumped him on the way and took him someplace—we still don't know where," I explained.

"Dammit boy, why didn't you call me sooner?" he demanded.

"At first, I thought we were getting him back right away because I traced his RFID and GPS signals. But all we found was the Impala abandoned with its tires blown, his phone, wallet, and weapons discarded in an empty lot, and the remains of the chip they'd removed from his back. Then I was busy helping the cops comb the area for witnesses, but no one's talking. I'm sorry, Bobby, this is all my fault! I got complacent and underestimated Alastair, who's been one jump ahead of me this whole time!" I admitted ashamedly.

"Keep it together, Sam! Wallowing ain't gonna do Dean a lick of good!" he barked. "What else are you doing to find him?"

I explained the various investigations the others were running, and Bobby responded. "Good! When they're done with their magical mojo, you send that Crowley fella here to get me, since there ain't time to catch a plane. Normally I wouldn't trust a demon even as far as I can throw him, but I figure he's more concerned with helping Dean right now than causing mayhem."

"Thanks, man. Your aid will be invaluable," I replied before hanging up. I then worked on preparing a space for the ritual. I'd just set down the materials I'd gathered when the doorbell rang.

Rowena threw her arms around me as soon as I opened the door. "Oh Samuel, I'm so sorry! Fergus told me all about what's happened. Ye poor boy! Of course we'll do whatever we can to help ye get Dean back."

"Thanks, Rowena—and you too, Crowley. If you'll follow me this way?" I led them into the dining room.

She looked approvingly at the drafting paper spread out on one end of the table, with a large copper bowl, several candles, a few herbs from Dean's garden, and a jug of spring water placed on it. "It looks like ye did your homework, Sam! Or maybe dabbled a wee bit in the art yourself? This will certainly make the ritual go smoother. Now, do ye have something of Dean's I can use?"

I nodded and handed her one of Dean's favorite t-shirts. "No, I've never practiced magic before, but I've researched some of it before out of curiosity. Do you need anything else?"

"Between what ye got here and what I brought with me, I should have what I require. Just give me a few moments to prepare everything. Fergus, if you dinnae mind?" She began pulling items out of her leather tote.

With Crowley's assistance, Rowena drew the necessary sigils on the paper and purified the water. She placed the bowl, with the t-shirt and the crumbled herbs inside, in the center of the symbols and poured in the water, filling it to the brim. She then closed her eyes and began to chant in Latin, and the water started to swirl as she continued. It flattened out and became an opaque silvery color after she intoned the last word of the spell.

She frowned at the blank surface. "Bollocks! Well now, that's rather disappointing!"

I sat down abruptly, my heart clenching. "What does . . . Could this mean he's . . . dead?"

"Och no, nae t'all! If Dean were dead, the water would've turned flat black. I'm sorry—I dinnae mean to scare ye like that!" She laid a reassuring hand on my arm.

"Mother's right. Dean's still alive, but wherever he's being held at must be warded," Crowley added. "Which makes sense, if you think about it. The Security Commission maintains the protections over the whole city, including those that prevent outsiders from using divination magic to see what goes on here. So it stands to reason that Alastair would get someone to cast a similar spell over where he conducts his . . . shall we say, less reputable activities."

"Whoever did this may be good, but I'm better!" Rowena insisted. "I can search for any focused castings of that type of spell and then pinpoint the exact location. However, it may take quite a while if I have to scan the entire city. D'ye have any means of narrowing our parameters?"

I forced myself to calm down, knowing that getting upset wouldn't help the situation. "I might. Let me make a couple of calls."

I pulled my phone out and first dialed Benny's number. "Hey there, man. Sorry if I'm interrupting your investigation, but is there any chance that you've found something?"

"'Fraid we don't have much as of yet, Sam. The techs can probably get some IDs offa the blood samples they took, but that sorta shit is gonna take a few days, even if the lab rushes the testing for us," Benny admitted. "Best we got right now is that we did track down a witness who admitted to seeing 'bout five big dudes bundle Dean and the body of that poor sap who tried to help into a black van and drive off in a northeasterly direction. The plate number she gave us led to a bogus registration though, and our computer guy hasn't been able to track the damn thing further."

"Here, give me the information you have so far, and I'll see if Ash has any better luck tracing that van." I quickly wrote down the license plate number and description of the vehicle. "Thanks, Benny. I'll let you know if we find anything more concrete."

"I'll do the same if we get something on our end. Good luck, my friend," he replied before ending the call.

I then called Meg's office, and she picked up. "How's it hanging, Sam? Any news?"

"Maybe, but we need more intel to narrow down the search. Either of you come across something yet?" I asked.

"Nada down in the cells, as expected. But Casper here has hit some serious paydirt with the big man's files," she said. "Lemme put him on."

There was a brief pause, and then Ash came on the line. "Sam? So it took a little while to crack the dude's security. Whoever set it up is damn good, but they ain't no match for Dr. Badass. Like Miss Demon Chick said, there's a hella lotta info here 'bout a buncha different types of shady business he's been involved in. I'm still sifting through it all."

"That's great to hear, Ash! Listen, is there anything there about properties he's using?" I inquired.

"Hold on, lemme . . . okay, here we go . . ." There was another pause. "Yeah, there's a list of ones all around the city . . . 'bout half a dozen at least. How do we pare down the choices? It ain't like we got time to check 'em all out."

"Are any northeast of where Dean was taken?"

"Lemme plug 'em into a map and . . . yep, two of 'em are in that area. I just emailed you the addresses. You gonna check 'em both out?"

"Maybe I won't have to. I'm here with Crowley and Rowena, and they may have a way to determine which is the correct location," I responded while opening his email. "They tried scrying for Dean earlier, but wherever he's at is protected. Rowena thinks that she can scry for the warding, but scanning the whole city would be too time-consuming. However, if one of these two properties has it . . ."

"I get ya! Alright then, if you don't have anything else you need, I'll keep reviewing the shit I've downloaded from that douchebag's computer," Ash said. "I'm telling you, man, some of this shit looks pretty heavy—the sorta dirt that those cats at the Market don't wanna get out, if you catch my drift."

"There's one more thing actually. Benny managed to get the plate number for the vehicle they were driving. If you can find out if it's one of Alastair's, and check traffic cameras near these two properties to see if it shows up, that'll help confirm that we're looking at the right place." I emailed him the vehicle information as I spoke.

"Can do, my man! I'll drop you a line once I trace it. And Meg says she'll try to run interference in case any of the asswipe's supporters come sniffing around. Dr. Badass out."

I passed the addresses on to Rowena. While I'd been on the phone, she'd started to set up a different divination spell, with Crowley summoning a minion to fetch any materials we didn't have present. She drew a particular rune over each of the two locations on a map, then lit a small bowl of herbs on fire and began to chant in Latin again. At the end of this incantation, she cast the smoldering ashes over the map, and one of the symbols began to glow with purplish light.

"And there ye have it, my dear. That particular building has the type of abjuration magic that could've blocked our first ritual," she proclaimed. "D'ye want me to break through it to make sure Dean is there? I cannae guarantee that whoever's there willnae notice the intrusion however."

I shook my head. "Let's hold off on that for now. If Ash can track the van to there, that should be sufficient corroboration. What I need now is to determine how to get Dean out of there."

"I assume that you won't want to wait for the constabulary to get warrants and that sort of tedious nonsense," Crowley observed. "I can call in some trustworthy underlings for backup, and of course Juliet and her pack mates will be invaluable not only as additional muscle but also in finding Dean once we're inside the place. Once your hacker friend makes contact again, I recommend seeing if he can call up any further information on our target, such schematics, security systems, et cetera."

"If Fergus can take me back to my shop, I can put together protective hex bags for those going," Rowena added. "As well as coming along to provide firepower myself, of course."

"I appreciate everything you're doing for Dean and me. If you can start on those preparations, I'll contact you as soon as I hear back from Ash. We can then meet up about a block or so away from this place and coordinate from there," I said, pointing to a spot on the map. "Oh and Crowley, could you go to Sioux Falls to bring Bobby Singer here? He's waiting for you."

His brows rose. "A hunter is willing to accept aid from a demon? What is the world coming to?"

"Hell, this was his idea! Apparently he's concerned enough about Dean to even work with you," I retorted with a weak attempt at a smile.

After the two left, I paced and waited impatiently for Ash's call. He contacted me a short while later to verify that the van had been seen heading to the location Rowena had identified, though he was still working on tracing its true ownership. I instructed him to focus first on digging up whatever he could about the building, and he volunteered to join us when we went after Dean to deal with any electronic security or surveillance there. I then called Lenore to let her know her SUV was in my parking garage and turned down her offer of assistance.

My last call was to Ellen. After being brought up to speed, she insisted, "You let me know when you're going in, and I'll join you. I already got my shotgun and pistol cleaned and loaded."

I sighed. "I appreciate the offer, Ellen, but I can't accept it."

"Now I know this ain't 'bout me being a woman or a human, is it, Sam?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

"Of course not! This has nothing to do with gender or species, seeing as how Rowena and Bobby will be coming. But you've been a civilian for years now, and even before that you weren't really a hunter yourself," I pointed out. "This is the same reason I didn't take Lenore up on her offer either. As much as I want Dean back, I can't let you risk yourself like this—and he wouldn't want you to get hurt on his behalf either."

"That may be true, but I'm pretty sure I still got more damn experience with hunting and violence than you, Sam, and I know you ain't sitting on the sidelines for this. This ain't your call to make, son. Dean's part of my family now too, and I ain't gonna be benched," she told me flatly. "I'm still just as handy with a goddamn gun as any hunter that ever came to the Roadhouse, and you're gonna need someone who knows more than basic first aid, considering the kinda shape that boy's gonna be in."

I recognized that arguing further would be futile. "Fine, but please promise to try to stay behind Crowley's people as much as possible, okay? Dean will kick my ass if something happens to you—once he's done beating the shit of Alastair!"

Ellen chuckled. "That's the spirit, kid! We're gonna kick Alastair's ugly ass and get Dean back in one piece—just you see!"