Author's Note: I hope all of you had a good holiday season and that you are staying safe and healthy.
I want to once again thank all of you who have taken the time to post a review of this story. I'm having fun writing it, but it makes me happy to know that you are enjoying it, too.
CHAPTER 11
"Well?" Charlie asked as she sat down at the table across from Sam and Dean. It was early the morning after her and Krissy's trip to the mall. While Dean was still in his bathrobe and pajamas, Sam was dressed for a morning run. He'd invited her to go with him and Krissy, but she'd declined the invitation. She wasn't a big fan of the idea of exercise in general or of running in particular.
"Well, what?" Dean asked as he took a sip of coffee.
"Are you going to look into what we talked about yesterday?" Exasperation was evident in Charlie's voice. She suspected that Dean had responded that way just to aggravate her.
"What did you talk about yesterday?" Krissy asked as she walked into the room. "Are we going on a hunt? When do we leave?" She looked at the two Winchester brothers expectantly.
"Maybe," Sam said as he rose to his feet. "Right now, the only place you're going is on a run with me."
"But . . . " Krissy started to interrupt as she gestured toward the table where Dean and Charlie were still sitting, nursing steaming cups of coffee. She just knew they'd been discussing something important, and she wanted in on it.
"But nothing," Sam said as he dropped a hand onto the teenager's shoulder and turned her around. With a slight push he guided her toward the door.
Charlie grinned as she watched the interaction between the youngest Winchester brother and Krissy. "She's a good kid," she said, turning back to look at Dean.
"Yeah, she is," he responded as he took a sip of his coffee. "She just needs to learn to not take so many chances with her safety. Hunting is dangerous enough without taking unnecessary risks."
"You're really training her to hunt?" Charlie was more than a little surprised, given how Dean had reacted to the idea of her getting involved in that life. She would have thought that he'd have wanted to keep Krissy as far from it as he could.
Dean shrugged. "It's what she wants. Her dad wanted her out of the life, but she's had other ideas since he was killed by a vampire."
Charlie could tell there was a story there, but she chose not to ask about it. She knew what it was like to have a past, and she preferred to tell others about it in her own time rather than having someone else tell it like gossip. She would give Krissy the same courtesy.
"Better to make sure she's properly trained than to let her do it on her own. At least that way she might stand a chance of living longer." Dean picked up his coffee mug and took another sip as his thoughts drifted.
"And out of trouble?" Charlie grinned, recalling how Krissy had come to be in the care of the Winchester brothers. Dean gave a quick snort of amusement at her comment. "Anyway," Charlie said after a few moments of silence passed, "what have you and Sam decided about that job?"
"We'll go and investigate. It'll get us out of the bunker, at least. I don't expect we'll find anything, but it'll be good training for Krissy. Are you coming with?"
Charlie smiled. "That's great! I'll let my friend know. I'd planned to head out later today for Atlanta. But I've decided I'm going to go to Kentucky with you, at least for a day or two. It'll be fun working with you again."
"Yeah," Dean replied drily as he thought about some of their previous hunts, "it'll be just like old times."
Meanwhile, in the war room, Krissy pulled away from Sam's grip. "So, are we going on a hunt or not?"
Sam stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared down at Krissy, his face stern. Realizing she wasn't going to let the subject go, he sighed. "We're going to investigate possible demon activity. There's not likely to be any fighting or monsters involved," he ignored the look of disappointment that crossed Krissy's features before she schooled them into a neutral expression. "But," he said as he pointed his right index finger in her direction to emphasize his words, "the rules still apply. You will do what you are told to do, when you are told to do it, and you'll do it without argument. If you can't do that, you'll be left at the motel while we investigate. And, I don't suppose I have to tell you what Dean's reaction would be if you break that rule, do I?"
Krissy looked down to hide the grin that spread across her features at the idea of going on an investigation. It wasn't a hunt, but it was the next best thing to it. "No, sir," she said as she finally looked up to meet Sam's eyes. "When are we going?" She figured she would find out where they were going soon enough. The important thing was that they were going and were planning to include her.
"It's not been decided yet, but we'll probably be leaving early tomorrow morning. We need to sit down and do some planning since this isn't an emergency case where we need to leave right away." Sam said as he started toward the staircase that led to the upper level and the exit. "But, first, you and I have something we need to do."
"Do we really have to? Maybe if we started planning now we could leave this afternoon."
Sam shook his head as he smothered a grin. "Yes, we have to. Tomorrow is soon enough for us to leave. Nothing is going to happen to destroy the world between now and then." Or, at least he hoped not. Given some of the stuff he and Dean had handled, he wasn't quite so sure.
XxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX
Later that afternoon, Sam and Dean were sitting at the kitchen table making plans for the investigation when Charlie and Krissy entered the room to join them. Dean glanced up at their appearance and couldn't help but wonder what they'd been doing. When he'd yelled down the hall that it was time to meet, Charlie had stuck her head out of her bedroom and said they would be there in a few minutes. He mentally shrugged and turned his attention back to what Sam was saying. All he hoped was that whatever they had been doing wouldn't land them in trouble.
Sam gave Charlie and Krissy a questioning look as they sat down at the table. When neither of them volunteered an answer, he narrowed his eyes in silent warning that they had better not be up to something then continued with what he had been saying. "It's going to take about sixteen hours to get there if we go our usual backroads, or about twelve hours if we go by Interstate. Even if we leave early in the morning, we're going to get into town too late to do any research at the library or visit the coroner's office."
"So, what can we do?" Krissy asked, a little disappointed that the investigation was apparently going to be delayed. She was anxious to get started.
"We gather information. There's got to be a local dinner where we can talk to people. We check into a motel, and you see what you can find out online while the rest of us go to Bobby Mackey's," Sam stated.
Krissy immediately reacted to his words. "What do you mean I do research while you all go out?" She looked from the serious expression on Sam's face to Dean's stern one.
"Exactly what he said," Dean stated. He intended to cut this argument off before it could begin. He wasn't in the mood to deal with teen angst.
Sensing trouble brewing, Sam spoke up. "You have to be eighteen to enter a bar in Kentucky. You aren't eighteen, and we don't have time to get you a fake ID."
"What Sam meant to say is that we aren't getting you a fake ID," Dean interrupted in a serious, no-nonsense tone.
Sam cleared his throat. He hadn't missed the mutinuous expression that had crossed Krissy's face. He knew from experience it didn't bode well for them. "Just because you won't be going to the bar doesn't mean you won't be helping with this investigation," he stated. "We need background information and anything you can dig up about anything supernatural or paranormal that has happened around the building or in the surrounding area." He really hoped this would placate Krissy. Otherwise, he could see this turning into a major cluster.
Charlie had watched the interaction between the Winchester brothers and their ward. She wondered whether she should say something or just remain quiet. She had just made a decision when Dean spoke again.
"Even if you were of age, you aren't going anywhere near suspected demon activity until we get you an anti-possession amulet." He held up his hand when she started to speak. "I don't want to hear any arguments about it. All you're going to accomplish is getting yourself in trouble. Now, repeat the rules about hunting."
Krissy glanced over at Sam, who raised an eyebrow in expectation. Turning her gaze back to Dean, she saw he was serious. She sighed heavily. "Do what I'm told, when I'm told." She held up one finger to tick off the rule. "And don't place myself in any unnecessary danger." She held up a second finger.
"And?" Dean asked expectantly.
"No lying."
Dean ignored her disrespectful tone of voice as he leaned forward to brace his crossed arms on the table. "Remember those rules, and we won't have a problem. Capiche? "
"Got it," Krissy replied in a voice that clearly showed how unhappy she was with their directives.
"What do you say we get some lunch, then start packing stuff up so we can leave early in the morning?" Charlie suggested, hoping to defuse the situation.
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Sam said as he gave a small smile to tell Charlie he appreciated her suggestion. "Charlie, you and Dean, can work on getting the weapons and supplies bags together while Krissy and I have our lore and Latin lessons for the afternoon. Then we'll help with anything that still needs to be done."
Krissy didn't say anything, but she was hatching a plan. She didn't know anything about the anti-possession amulet Dean had mentioned. However, she figured it involved some type of sigil. She was sure she would be able to find something about it in the sigil book Sam had her studying. Maybe if she could slip it into her backpack, she might be able to learn more about it and then figure out a way to use it to her advantage.
XxxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX
"It isn't fair," Krissy slumped back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She turned to stare out the passenger window at the passing scenery, but she didn't really see any of it. Her mind was on the argument she'd had with Dean and Sam before they'd left the bunker earlier that morning when she'd tried to plead her case for being allowed to take a more active role in the upcoming investigation. The way she saw it, she might as well not even be a part of this group for all the good she was going to do stuck at the motel while everyone else investigated.
"What isn't fair?" Charlie asked as she glanced at Krissy before turning her attention back to the road. She was trying to keep up with Dean, who was driving the Impala like a bat out of Hell. Her little car was struggling to keep pace with the more powerful muscle car.
"That I can't join in the investigation because I don't have a stupid amulet."
Of all the … Charlie thought with a sigh. "It's not just the amulet," she said, trying to placate the teenager. "Like you were told yesterday, you have to be eighteen to enter the bar. I'm sorry, but even with a fake ID, you wouldn't pass."
"I would if I dressed up and put on makeup," Krissy responded in a huff.
"And the ID?"
"I already have one," Krissy announced. "I got it before, and I've used it successfully."
"I tell you what," Charlie said, "we can talk about it further with Sam and Dean after we get there. But, I wouldn't count on them changing their minds. There's still the matter of the amulet. And, frankly," Charlie glanced over at Krissy again to emphasize her point, "I can't blame them. Demons are nasty business. Nobody should go anywhere near them without protection."
"Do you have an amulet?" Krissy asked, wondering if she might gain some information she could use in her argument to the Winchesters.
"No, I don't," Charlie answered carefully after taking a moment to answer. She'd considered lying and saying she did, but she instinctively knew that Krissy would demand to see it.
Krissy's temper flared at the other woman's answer. "What the hell? But they're still letting you go?"
"Just because I don't wear an amulet doesn't mean I'm not protected - just like Dean and Sam."
"And just how is that?"
Again, Charlie considered her answer before responding. She'd gotten to know the teenager well enough to know that she was plotting something. Charlie just hoped it wasn't anything too serious, or else she might have to face Dean's wrath for giving her ideas. Seeing no other option but to answer the question honestly, Charlie sighed. "We all have a tattoo of an anti-possession sigil."
Krissy narrowed her eyes. She'd caught glimpses of the tattoo on Dean's upper chest a couple of times in the gym when he'd been working out. She hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. But she remembered it had looked like a pentagram inside some type of sun. Now that she thought about it, she was sure she'd seen that symbol in the sigil book she'd snuck into her backpack after her lore lessons the previous afternoon. A thought was forming in her mind, and she pulled her cell phone out of her bag to begin a search for information.
Charlie took her eyes off the road to study Krissy for a moment. She had a really bad feeling that something was going to happen. "Please," she said as she returned her gaze to the road for a moment before once again looking at Krissy,
"don't do anything crazy."
XxxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX
Dean pulled into a parking space in front of a diner on the outskirts of Wilder, Kentucky. Charlie pulled into a space nearby. Despite having left the bunker early that morning, it was already early evening.
Wilder was a typical small town, he thought as he looked around. They'd driven through a small business district that looked like it had already shut down for the night. The phrase "rolling up the sidewalks" came to mind as Dean stretched the back muscles that had stiffened from sitting in the car so long and watched as Charlie and Krissy made their way over to him.
"What do you say we go in, grab something to eat, and ask around about the nightclub?" he asked. "Then we can go find a motel to check into and plan from there."
"Sounds good to me," Sam said as he stepped up beside his brother. Both Charlie and Krissy nodded their agreement.
They made their way into the restaurant and were greeted at the door by a middle-aged woman whose name tag read "Heather." The eating establishment was full of diners, and they wove their way through occupied tables to a booth in the back of the room.
As the four took their seats, it was obvious that Heather was studying them, trying to figure out the family dynamic involved with the group. The two men looked enough alike that it was obvious they were related. She guessed they were most likely brothers or were at least cousins. She decided that the red-headed woman was either the girlfriend or the wife of one of the men, but she was having trouble pegging the teenager. She didn't look anything like any of the adults she was with. As she handed out menus and took their drink orders, Heather decided she was going to have to study that one a bit closer in order to figure it out.
Krissy had noticed the waitress's scrutiny, and it had made her uncomfortable. She scowled at the woman's back as she walked away to take care of other customers. She was still scowling a few minutes later when Heather returned to take their orders.
"Okay, folks, what can I get for you tonight?"
Once their orders were placed, Sam initiated the small talk they intended to use to elicit information about the nightclub they were there to investigate. "We're just passing through and decided to stop here for the night. Is there anything interesting we should check out while we're here?"
"How long are you in town?"
"We'll probably leave tomorrow or the day after," Dean stated, drawing the waitress's attention to him. "We decided to just take off on a road trip for a few days. You know, take back roads and stop when and where the notion hits. We'll stay a little longer if there's something that interests us"
Heather gave a quick wistful smile. It had been a long time since she'd had the luxury or the freedom just to take off like that. Now, work and family obligations prevented that sort of spontaneity. "There's not much right here in Wilder," she replied. "But if you want to go up to Newport or Covington, or over into Cincinnati there's a bunch of stuff to do. I think we have some pamphlets and brochures for attractions at the counter. I'll check and bring some to you."
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Sam responded and gave her a warm smile that showed his dimples off to perfection.
"Isn't there supposed to be a haunted bar or something around here?" Charlie said, picking up the thread of the conversation with such precision it was almost as if it had been rehearsed. "I think I remember seeing something about it on one of those paranormal shows. Bubby's . . . Bob's . . . Bobby . . . something like that?"
Heather studied Charlie for a moment before nodding. "Bobby Mackey's?"
"Yeah, that's the one," Charlie said excitedly. "Isn't it around here somewhere?"
"It's over on Licking Pike." She glanced over at the huge clock hanging on the wall behind the counter. "They open in about half an hour and do ghost tours during the evening before the live music starts." Her eyes flickered to Krissy. "Your daughter won't be able to go, though." Heather had decided to take a stab at the family dynamic of this group and had a bet with herself as to whether or not she was right. "You gotta be eighteen to go - even for the ghost tours."
"I'm their niece, and I'm older than I look," Krissy replied in a tone of voice that did little more than serve to contradict her statement. She immediately felt a hard nudge to her foot and looked up to see Dean, who was sitting diagonally across from her, looking at her with a hard expression. When her eyes met his, he gave her a slight shake of his head - a subtle, but clear warning to knock it off.
Sensing Heather's sudden suspicions arising after Krissy was so quick to correct their relationship, Sam spoke up. "Dean and I are brothers. Charlie is Dean's girlfriend," he lied smoothly for the sake of expediency. Charlie and Dean confirmed his statement by sharing a smile and reaching to hold the other's hand. "Krissy is our niece - mine and Dean's older sister's daughter. Our sister recently passed away, and we now have custody of her. This is our first trip together as a family - sort of a bonding thing."
"Yeah," Krissy muttered under her breath, "nothing says family bonding like being stuck in a car together for hours on end." Everyone chose to ignore her comment.
"Oh, well," Heather responded, a little taken aback. "I'm sorry for your loss." It was the only thing she could think to say at the moment.
"That's okay," Krissy said as she shrugged her shoulders. Ignoring the fact that Dean's eyes were trying to bore a hole into her, she continued. "It's not like it was a huge loss. Anyway, I'm not interested in all that ghost hunter bullshit." She slumped back in the booth and crossed her arms over her chest. The attitude she was sporting wasn't completely an act for Heather's benefit.
Heather watched as both brothers' faces hardened. Deciding it was time to leave, she hastily said, "I'll just go and put your orders in. Your food should be ready soon, but give me a holler if you need anything."
Sam watched as Heather made her way to the counter and the pass through to the kitchen behind it to put in their order. Leaning over, he spoke quietly into Krissy's ear. "I know you are upset about not being able to go to Bobby Mackey's with us, but that last bit was unnecessary. I highly suggest you drop the attitude." See that Charlie was watching him and Krissy and that she looked a little uncomfortable with the fact that he was admonishing Krissy, Sam gave her a quick, reassuring grin before asking the table in general, "so how are we going to handle this?"
XxxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX XxxxxxX
Dean approached the Impala and the three people standing around it. "We're in room 6," he said as he tossed a keycard to Sam. "The ladies are next door in room 7." He handed Charlie and Krissy their room keys. "Why don't you dump your stuff and meet us in our room in about 15 minutes?" he asked, his gaze still on the two women. "We'll decide what we're going to do."
Krissy gave a huff as she walked off in the direction of her room. Yeah, she thought, they'd decide what the grown ups (she mentally put quotation marks around that phrase) were going to do while she was stuck at this crappy motel.
She nearly groaned when she walked in. The room was decorated in a bamboo theme. The walls and the bedspreads both were bamboo print, and the curtains and carpet were a weird shade of green. "Which bed do you want?" she asked, turning as Charlie entered the room behind her.
Like Krissy had done, Charlie studied the room for a moment. "I'll take the one nearest the door." She figured it would at least give her a fighting chance if Krissy decided to try to sneak out during the night. Given how upset the teenager was over not being allowed to go to the nightclub, Charlie wouldn't put it past her to try something like that.
"Come on," Charlie said as she dumped her bags on her chosen bed. "Grab your backpack, and let's head to Sam's and Dean's room."
Krissy grabbed her backpack from the bed. But instead of heading toward the door as Charlie had expected, she headed toward the bathroom. "I have to pee first."
Charlie sighed. She recognized that Krissy was trying to exert some of her own control over the situation. It might be aggravating, but she was willing to put up with it, and she figured Sam would, too - at least to a certain extent. But, Dean didn't seem like the type to accept this attitude. "Come on, let's go. They're waiting for us," she called, hoping to spur Krissy into moving a little faster.
About fifteen minutes later, they were sitting on one of the beds in Sam's and Dean's room. Dean was leaning against a chest of drawers, with his arms crossed over his chest. Sam was sprawled in a chair that had been pulled over from the table that was in the far corner of the room.
"So, here's what we're going to do," Dean said. "Charlie, Sam, and I are going to go to Bobby Macky's and snoop around, take the ghost tour, and see if we can find any evidence of demon activity."
Sam picked up the thread of the conversation. "Krissy, you're going to stay here at the motel and do some research. Look for history of the building and anything that would point to demon activity, either in the past or in the present. Go beyond what's posted on popular websites or paranormal show blurbs."
"Yeah, whatever," Krissy responded. She crossed her arms over her chest in mimicry of Dean's stance. "There's just one problem with that."
"And what would that be," Dean asked impatiently.
"I forgot to pack the charger to my laptop. The battery is getting old and doesn't hold a charge very well. I probably have maybe an hour's worth of battery left. I'm not going to get much done in that time."
Sensing that Dean was close to losing his temper, Sam spoke up. "You can use my computer - for research only." He paused as he considered the conditions he wanted to place on his offer. "I don't want it taken out of this room, so you can hang out here until we get back. And, I'll be checking the browser history, so stick to researching Bobby Mackey's only."
"Yeah, whatever," Krissy responded.
"I mean it, Krissy."
Krissy sighed. "I promise I won't take your laptop out of this room, and I will use it only to research Bobby Mackey's. There, does that make you happy?"
Sam glared at her in response as he stood and moved across the room to grab the bag holding his computer. Still not saying anything, he pulled the machine and its charger out of the bag and set them on the table.
Dean, having watched the scene play out, shook his head as he straightened. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. Krissy, you're to stay in this room or in your and Charlie's room. Keep your phone on you in case one of us needs to call you for any reason." He glanced at his watch to check the time. "We should be back by midnight. We'll call you if we're going to be later."
"Yeah, whatever," Krissy responded as she slumped back against the headboard of the bed she was sitting on.
Charlie stood to grab her bag and follow Dean out of the room. Before stepping through the door, she turned to look at Krissy. She wanted to go and give the teenager a hug and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she knew from the girl's body language that she wouldn't welcome or accept the gesture. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "we'll be back before you know it. I'm interested to see what you are able to dig up." When she didn't receive a response, she shared a look of concern with Sam, who was holding the door open.
"Tell Dean I'll be there in a minute," Sam said quietly so his voice wouldn't carry across the room to where Krissy was still lounging on the bed. "I want to talk to Krissy."
Charlie studied the younger Winchester's face for a moment before nodding. She stepped out onto the sidewalk, and Sam closed the door behind her. He leaned against it for a moment, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied the young woman on the bed.
"What?" Krissy demanded. She was feeling a little like a bug under a magnifying glass, and she didn't like it.
"You know," Sam began as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed across from her, "I used to hate it when Dad and Dean would leave me behind when they went on hunts. They'd tell me I was too young or not experienced enough. It didn't matter the reason, it still hurt. So, I get how you're feeling. You think you're being excluded. But, doing the background research in an investigation like this is just as important as the on-site stuff. You get to look beyond the hype and public face of the location to find out the truth behind the stories. That's just as interesting, if not more so, that what we're going to be doing. Plus, it will help us to understand what might be happening there."
Krissy didn't respond. Instead, she looked down at where she was picking at a loose cuticle on one of her fingers. Sighing, Sam rose to his feet. He really hadn't expected a response, but he'd thought he'd give it a try. "Alright, you can sit here and sulk all you want to, but keep in mind what we told you." With that, he turned and left the room.
Krissy waited until a few minutes had passed since she'd heard the roar of the Impala's powerful engine starting and the receding rumble as it was backed out of its parking space in front of the door and made its way out of the motel parking lot before coming to her feet. She retrieved the lore book she'd snuck out of the bunker's library from her backpack and quickly flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.
Moving to put the book on the dresser, where the lighting was best, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and took a picture of the sigil depicted on the page. She studied the resulting image on her phone and decided it was clear enough that it could be printed without losing any of the sharpness of the lines. She might not know anything about this particular sigil, but she'd learned enough from her lore lessons with Sam to know that it had to be done perfectly in order for it to be effective.
After putting the book back into the bag, she pulled out a bag of cosmetics and dug into the hidden compartment and removed her fake ID. She glanced at the birth date printed on it. According to it, she would be nineteen in just a few weeks. She sighed and opened the cosmetic bag and began sorting through its contents. She didn't wear makeup often, but she'd learned how to apply it to make herself look older.
When Krissy was finished applying her makeup, she took a critical look at herself in the mirror. Deciding she would pass for eighteen, she nodded to herself. She turned back to her back pack and pulled out a spaghetti strapped tank top. She hadn't had this plan in mind when she'd packed the garment along with a t-shirt and a spare pair of jeans. Rather, she'd brought it along, thinking she might be able to talk the Winchesters into changing their minds about letting her go with them to Bobby Mackey's.
She pulled it on. Turning to look in the mirror to check the fit of the garment she grinned. Yes, it would work well for what she had planned. She had decided to get the tattoo on the back of her left shoulder. She planned for it to be small - maybe four inches in diameter - and the tank exposed her shoulder blade perfectly.
Krissy was still grinning when she packed everything back into her backpack before crossing the room to grab Dean's duffle bag. She figured that, like her dad, Dean stashed emergency money in his bag. Sure enough, she found a wad of cash tucked into a pocket hidden in a false bottom of the bag. She pulled out $200.00 and returned the remaining money to its hiding place. She stuffed the money into her pocket and put everything back the way she had found it.
She had done some research in the car after Charlie had inadvertently given her the idea about the tattoo. She'd learned that the nearest tattoo parlor with good ratings was about fifteen miles away in Cincinnati. She'd also discovered that she could take an uber there and back. But, since she didn't know how much either the new ink or the car ride would cost, she turned toward Sam's computer bag. She thought he'd keep his emergency money there rather than in his duffle. Her thought was that if she took money from both, they would be less likely to suspect that she had taken any.
Jackpot, she thought as she found a wad of cash hidden in an accessory pocket. Pulling out another $200.00, she replaced the remaining cash and returned the bag to where she'd found it.
She stood in the middle of the room and mentally ticked through her plan. When she decided she'd done everything she needed to do up to that point, she pulled out her phone and opened the Uber app she'd downloaded to request a ride.
Ten minutes later Krissy was pulling her t-shirt on over the tank she was wearing when her phone dinged to notify her that the Uber driver was waiting for her in the motel parking lot. She took a look around the room to make sure nothing was out of place before grabbing the key card to her and Charlie's room and tucking it into her jean's pocket, along with her fake ID and cash, and left the room. She gave no thought to the consequences she might face should she get caught as she slid into the back seat of the waiting vehicle and confirmed the address of the tattoo parlor with the driver. If she'd timed everything correctly, she'd be back before the others returned, and they'd be none the wiser about her trip.
Her only thought as the car pulled out of the parking lot was to mentally gloat about how she had found a way to circumvent Dean's and Sam's arguments about her lacking protection because she didn't have an anti-possession amulet. She just knew they were going to delay getting her one as long as they could, just so they could keep her from hunting. Well, she'd show them she was smarter than they'd given her credit for being.
TBC