Chapter 62.
Sam met Cas and Jules in the corridor near her room. They were standing close together and smiling and he was reluctant to interrupt, but then Cas saw him and said, "Sam, Jules needs you or Jack to help her find out more about Rhydian."
"Busy. Party." said Sam.
"Isn't the party just about ready?" said Cas, "Besides, finding out about Rhydian could tell us how to defeat Michael."
"I know you have other things to deal with." said Jules, "So just tell me where to start. You kept notes, right?"
"Of course." said Sam.
"Is there a problem?" said Cas.
"No, no problem." said Sam quickly, "Jules, come with me. I'll give you everything I have. Cas, can you find Jack and tell him I need his help with something?"
"Can I tell him what?"
"Not really. It's for your party." said Sam.
"I don't understand the need for secrecy." said Cas.
"No, but we do, so just accept it." said Sam.
Sam took Jules to his room, closed the door and said, "This is complicated and it may seem bad and I know it's asking a lot ... "
"What are you talking about?" she said.
"I love Dean and Cas more than my life." he said.
"Have you lost the notes?"
"There are no notes."
"But you must have a vague idea of where ... " she said.
"Dean and Cas needed to believe in the talismans, so we lied and pretended they weren't merely symbolic."
"You lied, to Cas? You lied to your brother."
"Not the first time. Won't be the last. I need you to help us continue the lie because if we don't, Cas will go to Heaven and they will probably destroy his mind."
"Do you want to go back to the beginning of this story?"
"I can't. Every word spoken in the bunker is a risk. Cas might come back and hear us."
"I'm not Cas. Can you tell me in another way?" she said.
"In a way that he won't understand?"
"That leaves you a lot of scope." she said.
"Okay. Short version, lots of animals in two adjacent zoos suddenly got past the fences and jumped into each other's enclosures, probably because the zoos were too close, following some work that rendered the barriers less secure. Clear so far?"
"Yes, curious about the work and the nature of the animals, but go on."
"Wild animals do their own thing and the keepers were freaking out so new fences were required urgently."
"And the fences had to convince both animals and keepers?"
"Yeah." he said.
"Did they work?"
"Mostly. One zoo's animals are a little harder to fool than the other's. Fortunately, the keeper thinks he imagined seeing a breakout by the other zoo's meerkats, but obviously, any indication that the fence is cardboard would destroy his confidence in it."
"This puts the fence builder in a difficult situation."
"Yes, it does." said Sam.
"And the inspector sent to check on the fences won't have a good day either."
"It's very unfair on the inspector and I don't know how it can be resolved. I only know that one or both zoos could be closed over this."
A knock on the door interrupted them. The door opened and Jack and Cas came in. "I found him." said Cas, "What were you saying about zoos closing?"
"It's not important." said Sam.
"Not to you, but it is to the animals. Do they have homes for them? Can we help in some way?"
"The zoos are hypothetical." said Sam, "We were discussing meerkat management."
"In a game called Zoo Tycoon." said Jules. Sam saluted her with his eyebrows.
"I thought you two were discussing Rhydian." said Cas.
"We were. I have all Sam's notes on my phone now." said Jules.
Jack's face showed horror for a moment, then he quickly blanked his expression and tried hard to look calm.
"Cas," said Sam quickly, "You should go and get ready for the party. As soon as Sarah arrives, it's going to be getting started."
Cas looked at Jules. He looked very uneasy.
Before Sam could work out why, she smiled and said, "Is it okay if I meet you in your room before the party? I feel a bit nervous, walking in alone, all dressed up."
"Of course." said Cas, "Of course. I'll go and get ready."
When he'd gone, and they were sure he was far enough away, Sam said quietly, "Jack knows everything about the meerkats."
"I don't." said Jack, "I don't think I've ever seen a meerkat."
"Jack," said Sam, "I told Jules the truth about the meerkats we've been worried about. The ones that were getting through the fence."
"The ones that the keepers need to know are under control." said Jules.
"The keepers being two brothers." said Sam.
Jack frowned for a while and then said, "Oh. Okay. So what are we going to do about the ... " He frowned again. "I can't think of a meerkat-related code for laundry worker."
"Laundry worker?" said Jules.
"I know what we should have done." said Sam, "We should have gone for a walk. I think I'm losing what's left of my mind."
His phone rang. He answered it. "Yes, Cas, what is it?"
"Where's Dean?" said Cas.
"Dean went to get Sarah."
"He's probably talking to her about ... I shouldn't call him. I need to ask him something." said Cas.
Jules took the phone. "Cas, what's wrong?" she said.
"Dean thinks I should wear a hat. Sarah thinks I should wear the clothes she gave me. I think the coat is better. You said the coat was good."
"Put on the clothes Sarah gave you and the hat and I'll be there soon. If you don't look good in them, you can change back into the shirt and coat."
"Thanks." said Cas.
"It's fine." she said, "Everything will be fine." She ended the call and gave Sam his phone. "He's just nervous."
"So what are we doing about the meerkat situation?" said Jack.
"We're going to distract a mind that can count the atoms in a star and keep it from noticing that we have no information to offer." she said.
"How do we do that?" said Jack.
"We can either increase his anxiety or make him so happy he forgets about the meerkats." she said, "But I won't help you make him more anxious."
"That would send meerkats scattering through the fence anyway." said Sam.
"How long can we herd the meerkats for?" she said.
"As long as we have to." said Sam, "Because there is no other way to keep both zoos up and running."
"So is there anything else I need to know about the state of the zoos?"
"Lots, but I think we need to talk about that when we don't need to do so in extended metaphors." said Sam.
"I'd better go and reassure Cas that he looks okay." she said.
When she had gone, Jack said, "I like Jules. She definitely likes Castiel."
"Yeah," said Sam, "And now, thanks to me, she has to lie to him."
"Mostly, she has to distract him. I think she can do that." said Jack.
"I think he's right about her being a genius. I don't know how she made sense of the meerkat thing." said Sam.
"I'm more impressed at how well she understands Castiel." said Jack.