Breakdown Part 1

Lebanon, Kansas

Sam laid awake in the bed that he shared with Angela for hours that morning, while his wife slept peacefully beside him. Sam looked down at Angela and stroked her hair gently. Dean knocked loudly on the door, yet Angela didn't stir a bit.

"Yo, Grace and I are makin' pancakes," Dean started. "How many do you guys want?"

Sam didn't reply and just continued lying in bed. The clock read 10:00 am and Sam's phone was vibrating on the nightstand. He picked it up to see Donna was calling.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela walked into the kitchen. Sam was talking on the phone while Angela rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yeah. All right. Yeah."

Dean checked his watch as the couple walked in. "Ho, ho, ho. There they are. Saved you guys each a short stack."

"Hey, Donna, I'm here with Dean and Angie," Sam started. "I'm gonna put you on speaker. Uh, why don't you tell them what you told me?"

"Oh. It's my niece." Donna sniffled. "She's gone missing. And the local cops don't…" her voice cracked. "I know it's not your normal thing, but—

"Text us the address." Dean interrupted. "We're on our way."

"Thank you," Donna replied sincerely.

~/~\~

Oshkosh, Nebraska

Donna was leaning against her truck when the Impala approached. Sam, Dean, and Angela stepped out.

"Hey, Donna." Angela greeted.

"Hey," she gave them each a hug.

"How are you holding up?" Dean asked gently.

"Oh, you know… not great." Donna admitted.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry for calling you guys, but Jody's got her hands full with the girls," Donna replied.

"Hey, never apologize for calling us," Angela told Donna. "And we talked to Jody when we dropped Grace off. She wishes she could be here."

"So, what do we know?" Sam asked.

"Uh, staties found her car on the side of the road," Donna answered. "Signs of a struggle."

"And what was she doing out here?" Angela asked.

"She was taking a gap year. It's like, this thing where—

"Take a year off, run wild before you go to college?" Dean quirked a brow.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. I used to tell her about how much fun I had when I did it. Well, she thought that sounded like an adventure. She thought…" Donna's voice broke.

"Donna, hey. Whatever happened, it's not your fault." Dean assured.

"That's what Doug keeps telling me, but… I can't help but think—

"Just focus on the case," Sam whispered and Donna nodded.

"Doug here?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he's in there. Talking to the locals." Donna nodded to the building.

"I'll go check in," Dean replied.

~/~\~

Dean walked into the warehouse and inspected Wendy's car. Doug was talking to the police and Dean noticed the flat tire with a spike in it.

"Excuse me!" Agent Clegg approached. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Oh, I um…"

"I asked you a question, son." Agent Clegg narrowed his eyes.

Dean squared his shoulders. "First off, I'm not your son. Second—

"Whoa, whoa, easy," Doug walked over to deescalate the situation. "Agent Clegg, this is Agent Savage, FBI."

"Oh. Company man." He nodded. "Wow, you should've told me."

"Well, I didn't get a chance," Dean replied.

"Uh-huh. And what field office are you out of?" Agent Clegg questioned. "I'm just curious who I should call about you walking through my crime scene."

"Hm. I think we got off on the wrong foot," Dean started. "Uh, I'm not here on official business. The victim—she's family. She's my cousin, so I'm just here to get some answers."

"Oh. I can respect that." Agent Clegg nodded. "All right, come on. I'll fill you in."

"Yeah."

"Sorry," Doug stopped Dean. "You and Donna are related?"

"Yeah." Dean lied.

"So you were in Sioux Falls a couple of weeks ago, at the family reunion."

"I was there. Yeah." Dean confirmed.

"Donna said it was a pretty wild time."

Dean chuckled. "It was wild. Absolutely."

Dean moved to leave, and Doug followed close behind.

~/~\~

Agent Clegg, Dean, and Doug were standing around a table, a map on the surface. Sam, Angela, and Donna were now in the office as well.

"This is where we found him," Agent Clegg pointed at the map. "This is an older stretch of highway, mostly used by long-haul truckers. There's no patrols to stop the speeders."

"So who found the car?" Angela questioned.

"Troopers got an anonymous tip," Agent Clegg answered.

"Well, that's convenient," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, fits with the pattern, though."

"Pattern?" Sam lifted a brow.

"They think it's part of something bigger," Doug chimed in. "And Wendy's not the only one."

"We found evidence that suggests she was targeted by a serial abductor. Now that spike we found on the tire, that's classic Butterfly." Agent Clegg explained.

"Sorry. Butterfly?" Dean's brows furrowed.

"That's what we call him, what I call him." Agent Clegg turned to a board of Missing Persons on another map. "He's got kind of a migrating pattern. Now, in the winter, he makes his way southward, targeting people that are traveling alone, people who won't be missed. Then in the summer, he turns around and he heads back up north."

"Now what about the victims?" Angela asked.

Agent Clegg looked nervously at Donna.

"Go on," Donna pushed.

"They disappear. We've never even found a body." Agent Clegg answered.

"So maybe they aren't, you know, gone, gone," Doug suggested hopefully.

"Maybe." Agent Clegg pursed his lips. "Look, having you all here is not standard operating procedure, but if you wanna help… Now, I've been chasing this psycho for the last 12 years. I could use all the help I can get."

Dean looked to Sam and Angela. Sam just shook his head, but Dean ignored him.

"We're in," Dean said, earning an annoyed look from Sam.

~/~\~

Dean was sitting at the table in their motel room and fiddled with the settings on a CB radio. Angela sat on one of the motel beds, taking off her heels.

"No one uses CB radios anymore," Sam commented.

"No one except truckers," Dean replied as he picked up the receiver. "Breaker, breaker 1-9. This is 67, the Midnight Rider. Looking for the 4-1-1 on my Alice in Wonderland."

"Whoa, Midnight Rider," the radio crackled as a man's voice came through. "Sounds like that piece ran out on you."

"She's redhead, brown sedan. She's family." Dean replied. "Breaker, breaker. Anyone?"

"Hot diggity, I'll find your Alice." The man replied. "She'll be my family, too."

"Not if I get there first." Another trucker laughed.

"You see?" Sam asked as he shrugged off his suit jacket. "Told you. This is stupid."

"It'll work," Dean assured. "Dad used it all the time."

"This isn't even our kind of case," Sam argued. "And you know, with the real Feds here, we should back down."

"You're joking, right?" Dean scoffed.

"Sammy, it's for Donna. We can't leave." Angela added.

"We're still fugitives." Sam reminded Dean.

"They think we're dead."

"Do you really wanna get on the FBI's radar again?" Sam raised his brows.

"Okay, so what do you wanna do? Hmm?" Dean asked. "You wanna call up Donna and say 'Hey, sorry about your niece. These kinds of things happen. Later.' And head back to the bunker so you can mope some more?"

"I'm not moping," Sam argued.

"You got up at 10:00 am this morning. 10:00 am. You, Mr. Rise and Freakin' Shine." Dean retorted. "And then you turned down pancakes."

Dean got up from the table and took a beer out of the mini-fridge while Sam sat down next to Angela.

"I wasn't hungry." He shrugged.

"They're pancakes." Dean scoffed. "Look, I know you're in a dark place right now, okay? I mean, we lost Jack. Mom and Robert are… I think about 'em too. All the time. But you can't let it eat you up. Now look, when I was—when I was broken up, you and Angie were there for me. Well, we're for you now. And I'm telling you, the only way out of this is through. Now when everything goes to hell, what do we do? We put our heads down and we do the work."

"We'll find Jack, baby." Angela rubbed Sam's shoulder. "We'll save Dad and Mary, we will. But right now, Donna needs our help. Okay?"

"Breaker, breaker," a female voice came through the radio. "Midnight Rider. Felix the Cat here. Breaker, breaker, Midnight Rider. Felix the Cat here. I, uh, think I got somethin' for ya."

Dean picked up the receiver. "10-4, Felix. What do you got?"

"Better we talk live and in color," the woman replied. "You mind meeting up? There's, uh, there's a place off Gold Rush Byway, just past mile marker 980. I'll roll through around noon."

"It's a date. Over." Dean replied before turning back to Sam. "Alright, I'll go check that out tomorrow. Why don't you and Angie hang back in case something else breaks?"

"Okay." Sam nodded. "Look… obviously, I'm here for Donna, all right? I wanna help."

"We know you do, baby." Angela kissed his cheek. "So let's find this son of a bitch."

~/~\~

"Now we subpoenaed your niece's credit cards so we can trace her steps," Agent Clegg handed Donna a document as Sam and Angela entered the police station.

"Hey. Sorry, we're late." Angela apologized as Agent Clegg handed her a large binder. "What's this?"

"That is the last 12 years of my life. Right there is every person we think got taken by the Butterfly."

"Really?" Sam raised his brows.

"Like I was telling Donna, the last place that we can put Wendy is at a gas station is Oshkosh, Nebraska," Agent Clegg started. "Now based on the Butterfly's pattern, I have a shortlist of suspects that I like, but there's one guy, in particular, I've always liked more than the others."

"You ever bring him in?" Sam questioned.

Agent Clegg shook his head. "No. Could never get anything concrete to link up. Until now. You see, that night… he was there, too."

A man in handcuffs walked in with a Bible in his hand and a smirk on his face. He, along with others were brought in a room to line up.

"That's your guy?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Pastor 'Diamond' Don Hankey," Agent Clegg nodded. "Road preacher. Ministers to truckers, mostly. Don't let his squeaky clean act fool you, though. He's got a jacket. Arrests for lewd behavior, couple drunk and disorderlies."

Pastor Hankey was brought into the interrogation room by a police officer.

"Thank you for your service, son."

"And we picked him up… we found this." Agent Clegg showed Sam, Angela, and Donna an evidence bag with a bloody, white shirt inside.

"That's Wendy's." Donna breathed out.

~/~\~

Dean and the female trucker sat in a booth at the diner.

"So, this girl of yours…"

"You saw here that night?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Twice," she nodded. "Usually, I-I try to stay out of this sort of stuff. I just run my route and keep out of trouble. But… that night, that girl… like I said, I saw her twice. Uh, once at a station off Highway 26… And then later, I was driving off Road 88 and… I shouldn't have left her there," she explained. "But, um, I was running behind schedule and I just… Well, it's the only reason I even gassed up there. That place gives me the creeps."

"And what's this place called?"

~/~\~

Sam, Angela, and Agent Clegg were interrogating Pastor Hankey. Donna was watching from the other side of the room.

"Manny's Truck Stop Café," Sam started. "The other night—we can put you there."

"I got where my ministry takes me." Pastor Hankey answered.

Agent Clegg showed him a photo of Wendy. "You know her? Her name is Wendy Hanscum. Recent high school grad. Popular. She has her whole life ahead of her. No?" he quirked a brow when he got no response and showed another photo. "What about him? Luis Fernando. He had a family. They're both missing."

"The girl looks vaguely familiar." Pastor Hankey shrugged. "I've never laid eyes on the immigrant."

"Wow," Angela scoffed in annoyance. "Nice."

"Okay, let's focus on the girl, then." Agent Clegg told the pastor.

"Lawyer."

"Excuse me?" Agent Clegg demanded.

"I know my rights." Pastor Hankey shrugged.

Agent Clegg glared at the man. "Do you think I give a tinker's damn about your rights?"

"I don't care what you or your goons think. I know my rights, so get me a lawyer." Pastor Hankey demanded. "Then you can ask me anything you like about your illegal and your whore."

Agent Clegg grabbed the pastor by the lapels of his jacket. "Tough guy, huh?!"

"Whoa, whoa," Sam grabbed him. "Hey, hey, hey! Agent, Agent, please. Take it easy."

"Mind if I talk to him?" Donna entered the room.

~/~\~

The Impala was parked outside of the café and Doug got in.

"Thanks for coming."

"Got that report you asked for," Doug handed Dean a file. "Everything that's gone down at Manny's Truck Stop Café recently."

"And?" Dean asked.

"Couple of D&D's, four counts of public urination, but—

"Nothing that screams secret hunting ground for a kidnapper." Dean finished.

"Not exactly," Doug replied as Dean looked through the file. "Can I ask you a question? About Donna?"

"Okay." Dean nodded.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Doug asked concernedly. "I mean, I love Donna, but I've only known her for a couple years, and this… I've never seen her like this."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I mean, she's barely talkin' to me, and we always talk. About the Vikes, about the Real Housewives, about everything. This is a tough time, I know, but… I think she's hiding something from me. Anyhoo, forget it. It's probably nothing." Doug chuckled. "I'm probably just spinning. It's nothing."

"Doug, you're a good guy," Dean replied. "And you're gonna be there for Donna."

"You betcha." Doug nodded.

"So, you know, just… trust her. Okay?"

~/~\~

"I said I want my lawyer." Pastor Hankey told Donna.

"You sure? I mean, the Bible doesn't have much good to say about them." Donna replied. "But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John." She recited.

"You know your scripture." Pastor Hankey smiled.

"Even the good book's got lawyer jokes."

"I know what you're doin'. And I want—

"Lawyer. Yeah, yeah." She interrupted as she pulled up a chair and sat down. "Okay, but here's the thing. This is a small town. And it's Friday night. You know? So if you're lucky, they might be able to get you a public defender by Monday. Maybe. Which means you get to spend at least two nights in the big cell." She informed. "Just you and bunch of guys who… well, look at you and all they're gonna see is Sunday dinner. So… if you wanna deal with that? Super. Or… you can answer a few questions, and I can get you outta here. Your call."

"She's good." Agent Clegg commented as they watched from the other room.

"Yeah, she is." Angela agreed.

~/~\~

Dean and Doug approached the café and a man with a long brown hair approached.

"Windows? Oil?"

Den took out his phone and showed the man a picture of Wendy. "How about a girl?"

"Have you seen her?" Doug asked.

"May have." The man answered vaguely.

"Mm-hmm." Dean handed over some money. "Keep talking."

"She was in a couple of nights ago. Marlon liked her."

"Marlon?" Doug echoed.

"He's the cashier," the man explained. "After she left, he closed up early and drove off after her. Didn't come back till dawn."

"Uh-huh." Dean nodded.

~/~\~

"How long you been on the road?" Donna interrogated.

"Oh, a long time." Pastor Hankey drawled.

"Maybe 12 years, you'd say?"

"Yeah, could be." Pastor Hankey nodded.

"You just travel all over, huh?" Donna asked.

"Across God's green Earth."

Donna tilted her head slightly. "You a family man, Pastor?"

"Married, two kids." He confirmed.

"They know about that girl you flashed outside Cheyenne?" Donna questioned. "How 'bout that teenage boy says you picked him up hitchhiking?"

"I'm weak. I am made of flesh." Pastor Hankey sneered.

"Oh. That's your excuse?" she scoffed.

"God knows I'm a sinner. And my wife, she knows, too. We're working through it."

"Yeah?" Donna took out the bloody, white shirt from the evidence bag. "She know about this? Belongs to my niece. What did you do with her?"

"I don't… That's not…" Pastor Hankey stammered.

"We found it in your van. You hurt her, right?"

The pastor shook his head frantically. "No. No, no, no, no."

"You made her bleed," Donna growled.

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

"No, I'm not." Pastor Hankey assured.

Donna slammed the table as she stood. "Don't lie to God!"

"I'm not. I've done wrong, but I've never hurt anybody. Never." He whimpered. "Please, you have to believe me. Please. Please." He cried.

~/~\~

"I believe him." Donna sighed heavily.

"Yeah, so do Sammy and I." Angela agreed.

"But the shirt…" Agent Clegg frowned.

"Yeah, the shirt doesn't make any sense," Sam commented. "I mean, what? I'm—I'm a criminal mastermind that avoids capture for 12 years and when I'm finally arrested, there's a bloody shirt in my van that links me to one of the victims? It's too easy."

"So someone planted it," Donna suggested.

"Definitely possible." Angela nodded. "I mean, maybe back at the truck stop?"

"But if it's not the Pastor, who is it?"

~/~\~

Marlon was sitting behind the counter when Dean and Doug walked in.

"Where is she?" Dean showed him the picture of Wendy.

"Mmm," Marlon looked over the picture appreciatively. "I don't know."

Dean slammed him down on the countertop's surface and Doug's eyes widened.

"Dean, what are you—

"It's how we do things in the FBI." Dean interrupted.

"It is?" Doug asked in disbelief.

Dean lifted Marlon up. "Try again."

"I said I don't—

Dean slammed him down again. "Look, I know you saw her and I know you went after her. So where is she?"

"You won't believe it."

"Try me." Dean glared.

~/~\~

Doug turned the 'closed' sign on while Marlon typed away on his laptop. A window appeared showing video footage of a man on an operating table, whimpering. Various usernames and prices appeared on the screen.

"What? What's that?" Doug asked in confusion.

"It's like eBay. Kinda." Marlon answered.

The man, Luis Fernando, started to yell as the harvester approached him with a drill saw.

"They're selling him off," Dean realized. "Piece by piece."

"Somebody!" Luis cried. "Somebody help me! Oh, God, please! Help me!"

Dean and Doug watched, disgusted, as they watched the video. Marlon smiled sickly.