As Sam yanked his left hand out of his trouser suit pocket, the nail snagged on the shiny inner material and slipped away from him, landing on the carpet. Shit! Quickly, he flicked it behind him with the tips of his fingers so no one would notice it. That nail was his and Lara's lifeline and he couldn't afford for it to be found and taken away.

He needn't have bothered worrying, Bill wasn't suspicious in the least. "Up up up!" He gestured using a hand-gun, as Archie and Gavin followed him into the bedroom. It appeared that now their captors had all been fed and watered, the real business was about to begin.

Using each other as support, Sam and Lara stood up, keeping their backs to the wall. Lara shriveled as deeply into it as possible. Gavin came forward and unlocked their handcuffs. It was a relief to have his arm finally free, but he worried it meant separating from Lara. And to his horror, that was exactly what happened.

She screamed as she was dragged towards the mattress, and struggled in terror as her grey coat and black suit jacket were removed, and both wrists were handcuffed to the metal bar. Once on the mattress she lay rigid and very still, as if any movement on her part might trigger what could come next. Her long hair had fallen across her face, but the patches he could see were pale and sweaty. Sam would have ripped his own hands off if meant he could somehow get to her. As soon as she was secure, Gavin and Archie stood and prepared to face an angry Sam Winchester.

During Lara's struggles, Bill had kept his gun aimed at her the whole time, whilst raising one finger to Sam as a warning what might happen if he interfered. Bill still kept his aim on her, to ensure Sam's compliance as Gavin now took off Sam's heavy overcoat and blue suit jacket, dropping them on the floor in a heap. He re-handcuffed Sam's wrists and used a long thin chain to secure them to the chrome bar on the ceiling. Arms raised above his head, his fingertips brushing the ceiling, he breathed heavily with frustration. Sam's lip had opened up again, and blood began to drip over his white shirt. Gavin took a firm hold of Sam's dark grey tie with both hands and stared at him for a good long moment, the look in his eyes saying 'I could strangle you right now if I wanted to and there would be nothing you could do about it' before loosening it and removing it from around his neck. His breath, smelling like onion and kebab meat, turned Sam's stomach. Gavin then stepped back out of the way, to allow Bill to have a clear view to do his thing.

Bill handed over the gun to Archie (who continued its aim at Lara), and pulled out a cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans.

"I'm gonna make a call in a bit. Whilst on that call, I want your complete and utter compliance. Failure to comply will result in serious consequences. Do you understand what I'm saying here, Sam?"

Of course Sam understood. He nodded, a hard lump of nausea at the back of his throat stopping him speaking directly to the asshole in front of him. Bill nodded back then jerked a thumb at Gavin. "But before I make that call, I have a couple of minor preparations to make which Gavin here will help me out with."

Gavin stepped over to Lara, and gripped her by her hair with one hand. With the other hand, he quickly punched her in the face. Blood began to flow freely from her nose, and she cried out in pain and shock. Sam also roared in anger, cursing a blue streak. Gavin kept the tight grip on her hair, forcing her head upright so that as much blood as possible coated her pale yellow blouse. It made no sense to Sam – hitting Lara when both she and Sam were complying, whilst they were bound and helpless, was despicable.

Only once Lara's face was coated in blood and tears did he turn to Sam. He didn't take any time to gloat, he just started beating Sam around the face until he was bleeding enough to his satisfaction. Painful cuts to Sam's lip, nose and eyebrow bled profusely, and he had to spit and shake his head several times to get his breath and vision back.

Gavin waited until Sam could see again, before using the grey silk tie to clean his knuckles. As he wiped them clean he went back over to Lara, and crouched over her menacingly. He pulled out a kitchen knife from a back pocket and held it to Lara's throat. Time seemed to stop, and all Sam could hear was his heartbeat thumping in his throat until Bill spoke up. "Ok! So, the players are all set, it's time to roll the dice." He selected a contact on his cell phone and put the call on loud speaker so everyone could hear the ringing. The tone suggested an overseas call, and it wasn't answered after ten or so rings. Bill shrugged, and tried again. This time, after five or so more rings, the call was answered.

"What the hell? Its like 6am! Whoever you are you better have a damn good reason for calling me this early, or I'll come find you and shove your phone up your ass!"

Sam jerked back against his chains in shock, at the sound of his brother's voice. He snarled at Bill, literally spitting blood. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at…?"

Bill motioned for him to keep quiet, using just one finger against his lips. Sam was enraged, but kept his mouth shut for fear of retaliation on Lara.

Bill replied calmly. "Yes, I do happen to have a good reason for calling. A couple of good reasons actually, Dean." There was silence as Dean obviously took in the man's accent. Sam could imagine his mind whirling at the thought of someone British calling him so early in the morning, after not having spoken to his brother for so long.

"Has something happened to Sam?" Dean's voice was low, and worried. "Who are you?"

"Tell you what – how about you see for yourself? I'm sending you a video call request now…" Bill fiddled with his mobile, and after a moment waved down the camera. "Say hello to Sam, Dean." Bill held up the cell phone and walked over to Sam. He made sure Dean saw every cut, bump and bruise on his brother's face. Sam, for his part, was torn at seeing Dean's anguished face. The sight of the man he had looked up to his whole life caused ripples of grief to rise. For just a moment, Dean's betrayal didn't matter – his heart ached too much at seeing the fear in Dean's eyes.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Bill turned the camera away from him, and pointed it towards Lara. "Dean, meet your brother's new girlfriend. Lara – say hi!"

Sam could hear Dean swearing as the cell phone was moved away from him and towards Lara. Gavin smiled menacingly, and pressed the knife tighter to Lara's neck. All she could do was keep as still as possible whilst tears rolled down her face. She didn't say hi. She didn't say anything. After what seemed like minutes of her sobbing, but in reality was probably only ten seconds, Bill held the cell's camera back up to Sam.

Sam didn't give a shit at how pathetic his voice sounded. "Dean – please – you have to help Lara…"

Bill switched the cell back to audio and held it against his ear. "You have something that I've been hired to find. Something that my buyer really, really wants. I'll give you an hour to go get it and book yourself on the next flight from Kansas City to Heathrow. Call me when you're ready to leave."

There was a pause as Dean answered, and Sam strained to hear what he said. Bill just laughed.

"Mate, I'd like to see you try it. I don't think it's physically possible but what the fuck – I do like your style. Getting back to the point – give me a call back as soon as you've booked your flight." Bill held the phone away from his ear and laughed again at Dean's yelling.

"Oh yeah – I suppose I better tell you what I want. Go fetch me the Necklace of Trish. You have one hour. Talk soon." Bill hung up and stared triumphantly at Sam. "Wow your brother has a temper – I wouldn't like to piss him off!" He laughed at his joke. "Well done you – both of you! Played your roles perfectly. Now behave just a little while longer and you'll be both be free to go." Bill nodded towards Gavin, who unlocked Lara's wrists from the bar above the mattress. As soon as she was free she bolted towards the small bathroom behind Sam, and wedged herself between the toilet and the wall. It was the only place in the room she could cry in private.

Bill let her go, twisting his lips in mock pity. "We run a professional outfit Sam. The best in London. We guarantee our results with the minimum of fuss and bother. This is what we do – and we do it well. You were lucky that my buyer chose us to get the job done, and not some bodge-up artists." Bill reached up to Sam and patted him on the cheek. "See you soon Sunshine. Oh – and I haven't forgotten – you and I still need to have chat about what the fuck is up with you. Plenty of time before your brother gets here."

With that, all three of the men left the room – bolting the door behind them and leaving Sam still cuffed to the ceiling. Sam barely noticed their departure – he was still reeling in shock from hearing the item Bill's buyer had requested.

The Necklace of Trish?