Hi, guys! How's been your week? Busy and frustrating? If so, I can definitely relate. Anyways, here's the new chapter, hope you'll enjoy it. Happy reading! :)


Eldon Styne stirs, his eyelids tremble but stay shut.

"C'mon, sunshine, time to wake up," Dean says, "You're awake, no need to pretend."

"Well, if he's still unconscious, we can always use this," I say and turn on the stun gun, electric crackle filling the air.

His eyes immediately fly open, and I chuckle. He gives me a dirty look and then tilts his head looking around. We're in an abandoned warehouse, dusty and rusty. Daylight barely manages to filter through the dirty glass of the still-intact windows. It's gloomy, but we've got torches. There are a lot of pipes that make me wonder what purpose was the warehouse used for. But the pipes are solid, sound. That is where our prisoner's hands are chained to - up to a pipe on the ceiling, his feet barely touching the ground.

As Eldon Styne comes to consciousness, he carefully tries his bondage.

"Don't bother," Ben hisses, "That's solid." he wheels closer to Styne cart with an assortment of torture implements.

Our captive remains silent, though his eyes dilate out of surprise at the sight of the kid. He's going to be a tough one to crack, I can tell it from now. He's got that stubborn look in his eyes, his posture isn't of a scared man - it's of a man confident enough to know there's nothing to make him do something else than what he wants. He's so complacent I start wondering if there's more than we know - more like bad history or something.

"Here's how this works," Dean says, crossing his arms, "I'm gonna ask questions. You're gonna give answers, or it's gonna get crazy real quick."

"You better have some time," Styne smirks, "I'm not the usual breed of cat."

"Neither are we." says Dean simultaneously with mine: "We've got all the time in the world."

"Did you kill Lisa Braeden?" Sam calmly asks, and I don't miss the ironic fact Dean's ex's last name is the same as my first.

"You've got one chance," I raise my finger to emphasize my words, "One. Answer the question."

"You think that seeing all these scary toys will make me spill my guts?" Styne laughs.

"Oh, but you will spill your guts," Dean says dangerously calmly.

"One way or another," I add and shrug.


Eldon Styne's one tough son of a bitch. He chose the hard way. He refused to talk so now Sam and Dean are working on him. I took Ben outside. I don't want him to see this, I don't want to corrupt him more than he is now. Dean's right, Ben's supposed to be at school worrying about girls and grades and dances, not hunting down the bastard who killed his Mom.

Though, I'm surprised by the kid. He never even once lost his composure back there. He was all cold and strong. He's silent now, sitting next to me on the hood of the Impala. From time to time a scream escapes the warehouse.

"Hey," I gently nudge Ben, "You okay?"

He raises his head, looking far into the distance.

"I just want this to be over already."

"It will. As long as that monster gives us what we want, we'll make sure he doesn't harm anyone else."

"Why not just kill him now?" Ben growls.

"Because I believe there's something more going on than what we know. Something huge and bad. You remember what Kevin said about the Styne family. I think somehow your mother interfered in their plans and that got her killed. So we need to know their plans and stop them. For good."

Ben nods. Another scream echoes. The kid smiles darkly.

"Believe me, killing him won't make you feel better," I quietly say and he turns to me, "Different maybe, but not better. Nothing can bring back your mother, even killing him."

"Because you'd know, right?" he snaps at me, "Because taking a life will change me, blah-blah..."

"Trust me, I know. I've been there."

"What?"

"Yeah..." I sigh, "The monster that killed my father, I hunted him down. He was dangerous, leader who planned on turning the planet into his very own sheepfold. While Sam, Dean and I were planning the attack, how to kill him... I realized I couldn't do it."

"Why?" Ben furrows.

"Oh, I wanted to, don't get me wrong. But I knew that if I let my thirst for revenge guide me, I'd lose focus on what was really important - saving everyone, helping, making the world a bit better. Killing him was right. But killing him for the wrong reasons would've made me a monster, too. And I couldn't fail my father like that." I huff in annoyance, "Ironically, later I did so many things Dad would never approve, but that's another story."

"So what, spearing my enemy will make me a better person?"

"No," I sigh and rub my face, "I don't know anymore. When I was your age everything was black and white, right and wrong. Now? All I see is shades of gray, some darker than others. And it doesn't make it any easier to decide what is the right thing to do... But you know what? We can always kill Styne after he tells us what we want."

"Won't this make us the same as him?"

"Huh, isn't that the real question..." I look up at the sky, "Well, maybe if getting your revenge will hurt innocents, then it's not worth it. No matter how well-deserved it is."


Half an hour later, spent in complete silence and staring at the sky, Sam and Dean join Ben and me. They both have those exhausted faces I know too well. Sam's just tired. But Dean... the stern expression, the clenched jaw, the edge in his eyes... He's not well. And how could he be? After Hell, I knew he was different. But after Purgatory... well, I know why. Seeing him like this makes my mind explode in all kinds of memories from the time in Purgatory. Memories about what I did and what else I was ready to do to get Dean and Cas out. Memories of what we went through. Memories of colorless pain, broken bones, spilled blood, and ashes. Memories buried so deep inside me of hope never to reach the surface again. But sometimes wishful thinking isn't enough.

"What's going on?" Ben eagerly hops off the hood.

"He's not speaking," Sam quietly says as I hand him a wet cloth to clean himself.

"What!?" Ben rages.

"Listen, kid..." Dean sighs, and I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," my voice quiet but confident, "He'll talk."

Dean's head snaps into my direction. He knows what I mean.

"No," he barks, "You're not!"

"You know I can do it."

"Braden, no! I'm not..."

"I can do it, Dean. You know I can. You've seen me do it enough times. You know how good I am..."

"That's exactly why..."

"I know," I brush my hand over his to let him know I appreciate his worry, "But I can handle this. I promise."

"Last time you were out for three days!" he tries to reason me.

"Last time I didn't have a reason to come back," I quietly admit and by his stoic expression I know he figured it out long ago, never the less he asks, "And what's that?"

"You."


Purgatory. Purgatory changed it all. Before Purgatory I liked to think I'm the same, just as Dean.

But now, after Purgatory, I know I'm not. There's something more inside me, something more... extreme. Something I hate but don't hesitate to use when needed. Something even Dean after Hell and Alaistar could never bring himself to do. But for my own regret and Eldon Styne's misfortune, I'm not Dean.

It's an amazing form of art. Torture. Yeah, it's ugly and bloody. But it requires a firm hand and a clear mind. Extracting information efficiently is vital. Knowing how to extract the information... Well, let's say that after Purgatory I'm more of an "end justifies the means" kind of person. And Eldon Styne is about to find it out first hand.

With practice, I turned out to be a pretty resourceful bitch. Ben's widened eyes are proof enough as he watches me preparing. All the tools are inside. But all I need is one simple but effective mixture. What I'm about to do is cruel and unforgivable. And I hate myself for it. But it is necessary. Lesser evil some might call it. Still, the lesser evil isn't any less wrong.

Yet, desperate times call for desperate measures. In extreme circumstances you find what you're really made of, you find out how strong you are, and what you can endure, what you can survive. After Purgatory I know I have no restrains when it comes to that. It's gonna be brutal and ugly, but I'm gonna break Eldon Styne. And I'm gonna do it ruthlessly because I know no mercy. For I am an artist, and my art is cruel.

I silently enter the warehouse.


How about that development? Did the guys took it too far? Is Braeden too much over her head? Drop me a review and tell me. :))
Wishing you nice relaxing weekend and nice and quick going Friday! Till next week. :))