Chapter 38
The truck exited at the sign for Hobbs, New Mexico and stopped at the stop sign. The driver listened to the voice only he could hear and turned left going across the interstate and following the secondary road a few miles before coming to the outskirts of the town. Sam glanced around with a little interest taking in the buildings and businesses before Shadow guided the truck into a parking lot of a small, adobe style motel that had been well maintained. He didn't bother stopping at the office and rolled on around to the back looking for Storm's car.
"Over there." Sam pointed when he stopped the car and Shadow steered that way and parked beside it.
"Get your stuff and let's get inside." Shadow said looking around the parking lot as Storm opened the motel door in front of his car and stood in the doorway.
"C'mon in, got a suite." Storm commented stepping side so the two could enter. "You got the door on the right kid."
"Thanks Storm." Sam nodded looking over the room and spotting the door. He strolled toward it and flipped a light switch revealing a small room with a queen size bed, small dresser, nightstand, and overstuffed chair sitting in the corner. He sat his duffel on the bed for now and went to join the others in the main room.
"Storm's going to get us some food? Any requests?"
"A chef salad with ranch dressing on the side, rolls, and...A piece of pie." Sam replied thinking of how much Dean liked pie. He thought it might make him feel closer to Dean.
"You got it kid. How 'bout you Shadow?"
"Turkey club on wheat, steak fries and pie does sound good for dessert."
"I'll be back in a few. Hang tight."
"Watch your back."
"Don't I always." Storm chided giving him a 'you do know who you're talking to' look.
"Sam can I talk to you a minute?" Shadow asked after Storm left the room. He decided now was a good time to get things aired out and get rid of the tension with them.
"Sure." Sam said hesitantly, not sure what he wanted as he stepped closer.
"You've been kind of uneasy around me and I know it was what you saw the other morning." Shadow started.
Sam quickly looked down at the floor as he felt his face getting hot and knew he couldn't stop it. He wasn't sure what to say since he didn't want to portray himself as a peeping tom.
"It's ok kid, you've done nothing wrong. C'mon over here and sit down." he urged Sam as he took a seat on the couch.
Sam glanced his way and shuffled to a chair beside the couch and sat his body tense and his mind whirling with thoughts of what he should say or do.
"These scars on my back came from a long time ago. I was in high school and some politician thought it would look big of him to propose the kids on the reservation be bused to the schools in the town. He thought it would make him look like he cared about us, which he didn't. So we were loaded on buses and took a two hour ride into the town to the white schools. Needless to say that didn't go over well with the students at the schools. We were treated like trash and looked down upon because of our heritage. I held my temper as long as I could and took the crap. It wasn't two weeks and I was coming out of football practice and caught three white guys trying to rape an Indian girl that I knew. They were spouting how all squaws were nothing more than whores. I put them in the hospital and was suspended for fighting. They didn't believe me when I told them, nor did they believe Little Dove. Some seniors caught me in town one evening and took me to the desert where they whipped and beat me up. They left me for dead, but I managed to crawl close enough to the res that someone found me and took me to my grandfather." Shadow paused and looked at Sam who was staring wide eyed at him.
Sam didn't know what to say as he listened to Shadow's story. He couldn't believe people were that prejudice, but then again he had seen it working at the hospital and it had gotten better over the years, but back then...
"The tribes rose up and nearly burnt the town to the ground and all the kids were allowed to go back to school on the reservation. No one dared to change our way of life again. So I wear the scars with pride because I stood my ground and didn't let the white man take away our dignity and honor. No one in that town ever treated any of my people like that again. We had an uneasy alliance that allowed us to live peacefully."
"Thanks for telling me. I can't believe how cruel people can be when there's no reason for it." Sam said quietly. "I'm sorry that happened to you and I apologize for spying, I didn't mean any disrespect or anything."
"None taken kid. We're rooming together for a while and you were bound to see it sooner or later. You're part of the team now and we don't keep secrets from each other. So are we good? No more tension between us?"
"Yeah, we're good." Sam smiled shyly liking the sound of that. He was part of their team, their family and it made him feel like he belonged to something. It had been a long time since he felt a closeness to others what with the hard work and long hours he put in with med school and now his residency at the hospital. It didn't leave him much time for a social life. He still saw his Mom and stepfather, Stephen, occasionally, but they lived about three hours away so it wasn't often and they traveled a lot with Stephen's work so spending time with them was hard.
spn
The next morning was cloudy and cool, but it looked like the rain was going to hold off for a while. Shadow was up first and showered and went for breakfast while the others showered and got ready to leave. After they ate, duffels were packed in the vehicles and they turned in their room keys before leaving.
"Sam, why don't you ride with Storm for a while?" Shadow suggested. "Throw anyone off that might of seen you in the truck."
"Okay, I guess." Sam replied looking to the truck and then at Storm as he bit his lower lip.
"It's ok kid, I don't bite." Storm commented as he got into his car, a Dodge Charger.
Sam only stood there for a moment before walking over to the Charger and getting in on the passenger side. He adjusted the seat as far back as it would go before fastening his seatbelt and settling down to stare out the windshield at Shadow getting in his truck. He let them take the lead and dropped in behind them to watch their back.
Storm positioned his comm in his ear and did a radio check. "Radio check, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, I got your back." Shadow responded softly in his ear.
"Do you want the radio on?" Storm asked after they got on the main highway.
"Fine with me." Sam shrugged watching as he reached for the controls and found a likeable station.
"So what did you do before all the crap happened?" Storm questioned trying to make polite conversation.
"I'm a doctor...Well I was in residency at the hospital until I had to go undercover." Sam answered. "Now, I don't know...I've missed all this time..."
"You still wanna be a doc?"
Sam thought for a moment as he stared off into space before answering.
"Yes, I think I do."
"Then don't give up on that dream."
"Where are you from?" Sam asked.
"Born in Maine, but I've lived in several states growing up. Right now I have a place in Colorado, kinda like the scenery there."
"I've been there a couple of times with my parents. It is nice. So, what was it like working with Dean?" Sam asked curious to get Storm's intake on him.
"Gunny?" Storm questioned glancing over at Sam. "He's the one person you want on your side. He was hard nosed, a no nonsense kind of guy who expected you to give him your very best and he would do the same for you. You earned his respect and he didn't give it easily. He was fair to everyone and never took anyone for granted. We couldn't of asked for a better leader." Storm told him. "Or friend."
"Yeah, his is a good friend." Sam agreed with a nod as he turned to check out the surroundings outside the window. His thoughts drifted back to Dean and what he had taught him and the bond that they had formed.
"You connected with him didn't you?"
Sam gave him a quick look, but didn't answer since it was written across his face. He saw his mouth twitch in a half smile not expecting Sam to respond to the question. He concentrated on the highway in front of him and studied the traffic around him for any danger.
"Everything still looking good?" Storm asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror picking Shadow out behind him.
"So far so good."
"We're not far from the Texas border, but we'll not stop until one of us needs gas."
"Alright, kid doing ok?"
"Yeah, a little inquisitive." he mumbled.
"So he grilled you too?" Shadow chuckled. "About Gunny?"
"Yep."
spn
The car and truck passed over the New Mexico and Texas border heading for their last stop. What none of the occupations of the vehicles noticed were the cameras that had been mounted on both sides of the road to take photos of each vehicle that passed. These were downloaded into another program that ran facial recognition searching for one face. An alarm went off on a cell, alerting the owner a match had been found. He pulled up the photo and studied it before making a phone call. He passed along the information and hung up thinking his problem might be solved soon.
"I'm getting low on fuel, guess we need to stop soon." Shadow's voice mumbled in Storm's ear.
"Fine with me."
"Wanna tell the kid we can switch rides again."
"Shadow say's you can ride with him when we stop for gas."
"Okay." Sam said pushing his body up in the seat and paying attention to where they were.
"We'll be stopping in about twenty minutes."
"Good, I need to use the bathroom."
"Well, you'll have to hold it for a little longer."
"I'm good."
"We'll stop up ahead Shadow."
"Lead the way."
spn
The convenience store Storm pulled into was small but seemed to see its share of customers. He pulled up to a pump and got out to fill the car. A few minutes later, Shadow pulled up a couple of pumps over and did the same. Sam got out of the car and started to walk toward the entrance until Storm spoke.
"Hey kid, wanna wait up until I'm done?"
"Okay." Sam shrugged backtracking to the car and leaning against the front bumper waiting for him to finish. He looked around spotting Shadow across the way but didn't acknowledge him. Sam watched other customers coming and going until he saw Storm was done and straightened back up.
"I'll pull over there and meet you at the door."
Sam walked back toward the store and paused just outside watching both Shadow and Storm move their vehicles over to the far side to two available parking spaces. They got out and headed for Sam and all strolled inside looking for the restroom sign. When they spotted the neon sign at the back of the store, they headed that way and went inside. None saw the storage room door crack open as someone peered out of it.
The restroom was small with two stalls and several urinals against one wall and sinks against the other. Sam stepped into one stall and locked the door, while the other two used the urinal and washed their hands.
"I'm going to be a minute." Sam said when he heard them washing their hands.
"Alright kid, we'll be waiting right outside, no rush." Shadow told him before stepping out into the small hallway.
"I'm going to grab a coffee." Storm said as Shadow leaned against the end of the hall waiting on Sam.
"Get me one too and some type of Danish."
"I'll see what they've got." Storm said moving deeper into the store.
Several minutes had past when Shadow looked toward the door as a young guy came hurrying in and looked around before speaking.
"Does someone own a silver truck or a blue car?" he asked. "There's some guy out there just flattened the tires."
Storm and Shadow both ran for the door and outside to see a guy running around the corner of the building near where their cars were parked.
"Want me to go after the punk?" Storm asked stepping toward the corner of the building.
"No, he's done his damage." Shadow growled knowing this was going to slow them down and wondered if it was done to allow someone to get here.
A/N: So Sam's not safe yet...Thank you to the guests who have left me reviews, I appreciate each one of them. Thank you for all the support for this story also. You know I love reviews and if you can leave me one. NC