So here's the promised second chapter for the night, hope you're all still enjoying it! :) see you on the other side!

Chapter Seven

Devils Advocate

Dressed in one of the suits that Alice had packed for me, with my hair tied in a loose bun and a small amount of plain make-up on I was ready to go. With my badge in my inside pocket, the gun in the opposite pocket and the knife in my waistband I felt ready for anything, well most things anyway.

I left the room, locking it behind me and pocketing the key before heading to join the brothers at the shiny black car. "So what do you think? Will I do?" I asked as I reached the men, doing a quick twirl with a smile on my face.

Dean and Sam both smiled back at me before exchanging looks with each other. "You look ok, don't smile though. Cops don't smile that much, especially lady cops." Dean grinned at me before climbing into the drivers seat of the muscle car.

"You look fine Bells, you'll fool them no problem. Just remember the key is confidence." Sam advised me as he climbed into the passenger seat and I glided into the smooth back seat.

"Yeah, say anything with enough confidence and people believe you." Dean agreed with Sam as he pulled out of the motel parking lot.

I nodded while smiling, knowing deep down that I wasn't going to find this as easy as the brothers were making it out to be. Confidence was not something I had in abundance. But I'd give it a go. What was it that someone said 'if you can't make it then fake it?' Or something like that anyway. I'd fake it. And hopefully someone would buy it.

If I thought the walk to the hotel was short, it was nothing compared to the ride. It took all of a minute to get there and park up besides Charlie's cruiser.

"Let's have a look-see then." Dean mumbled before reaching into the glove compartment and bringing out a couple of tools, one of which I'd never seen before. One was a bag with what looked like Alan keys in, but that I recognised as his lock picking kit. The other was a long flat rod that I had no idea what the function of it was. It didn't look lethal though.

Together we climbed out of the car and headed first to the cruiser. I was a couple of steps behind Sam and Dean so that I could follow them but still look like I knew what I was doing. I didn't want to stick out too much.

Dean instantly went around to the drivers door and pulled out the rod thing. He inserted it between the door and the window, and glanced round, making sure no-one was watching. Jimmying it for a few seconds he tried the door only to find that it did actually open. I stared wide eyed at him as he smiled cockily at Sam and me. "Hell yeah, I am so freakin good." He declared before climbing into the car and fiddling around. "Trunks open!" He called through the glass to Sam and me.

Dutifully I followed Sam around to the trunk of the car. My heart beating furiously and my mouth drying out slightly. I couldn't believe that I was involved in this, was involved in something as illegal as this. Charlie would kill me if he ever found out. Or he would have done before all of this. Now I wasn't so sure.

Sam opened the trunk with one small tug and revealed the contents. There was nothing in there except a flashlight that looked like it had seen better days and a smashed compass. Sam started feeling around the bottom of the trunk though, going around the edges with special care.

"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.

"Looking to see if there's a secret panel like in the Impala." Sam replied, his upper body in the trunk now as he investigated the very back. His words confused me though. First what was an Impala? And second I was pretty sure that a police cruiser wasn't going to need a secret panel. I mean it wasn't like Charlie would get pulled in the thing, and even if someone saw a police car with a trunk full of weapons would they be that surprised? Not surprisingly to me, Sam eventually came out and shook his head. "Nothing." He declared.

I nodded and walked over to where Dean was still sat in the drivers seat. "Did you find anything?" I asked him through the open window hopefully. Anything right now would be great.

"Yeah, your dad's got great taste in music, AC/DC, ZZ top, Black Sabbath, your old man really knows how to rock." Dean said brandishing some cd's at me. My face fell, when Dean had said that he'd found something my spirits soared again, I was hopeful for all of a second. But like everything else so far it was a bust. Dean must have noticed because he said softly. "We will find something, we'll find him. Don't worry. But you've got to have a bit of fun otherwise all this crap, it gets you down." He said the last bit still softly but with a stern edge to his voice, as though he was ordering me to enjoy looking for my missing dad.

"You find anything in the trunk?" Dean asked as he opened up the drivers door and wound the window back up.

"Nothing." I told him.

Dean and Sam shared one of their oh so annoying looks before both starting to walk towards the hotel together. I trailed behind feeling useless and a little depressed.

We entered the hotel reception and I was glad to find that it was the same woman behind the desk as earlier. I really hadn't fancied going through my cop routine again with the brothers stood right next to me. I had a feeling that I'd get teased for it later when we were alone.

"April." I said with a head nod to the woman, my voice as devoid as happiness as I was feeling. I noticed Dean raising his eyebrows and tilting his head to Sam, I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. I guess they'd tell me when this was all over. "I'm here to look over Swan's room." I announced while taking out my badge and flashing it to her before putting it back the way I'd seen my dad do a thousand times. "These are my colleagues from internal affairs..." I said nodding at first Sam and then Dean.

"Agent Mogg and Agent May ma'am." Sam supplied for me. I turned and looked at the brothers with raised eyebrows. Mogg and Way, they were the front men in UFO I was pretty sure. I was certain when Dean just smirked at me that I was right. Well Dean took that whole having fun on the job thing to heart.

"We've got a warrant to look at Officer Swan's room." Dean said with authority while pulling out another badge like thing from his pocket. He was right, he'd said it with so much confidence that I almost believed him and I knew the truth.

"Er... Yeah... Yeah... Sure, I'll just grab you the key... I should, er... Ring the manager?" April asked us looking confused but also a little bit excited. This was probably the most exciting that had happened to her this year.

"We don't need anyone with us ma'am this is official police business, and officer Swan's room could hold vital information pertaining to an ongoing investigation. As such we would prefer not to be disturbed." Sam told April, looking every inch a cop with a job to do. These guys were impressive to watch in action.

"Sure, sure. Mr Swan was in room 20. It's just down that corridor, then to your right, the closest one to the fire escape." April told us still looking flustered as she fumbled handing over the key to me.

"Thank you ma'am." I said taking the key off the desk and walking the way she'd pointed out. The brothers following on my heels.

"Not bad, for a rookie." Dean said when we were out of ear shot, his voice impressed.

"Thanks." I said back sarcastically, shooting him a look over my shoulder.

"What?" Dean asked sounding surprised, but I heard a smirk in his voice.

"Nothing, just that little compliment right there." I told him, reading the numbers on the white wooden doors as we passed. "Was great, you know except for the surprise in it, and that you made me sound like a liability as well as completely incompetent. It was great, really."

I heard Sam sniggering behind me and rolled my eyes. But I was doing what Dean had told me too, having fun on the job. And busting his balls was fun.

I stopped outside room twenty, just where April said it was, right next to the fire escape. I raised the key with a shaking hand but stopped before I could put it in the door. I was pretty sure that what ever was behind this door I wasn't going to like. If Charlie wasn't in here, then we were still without him, the disappointment would be crushing. But if he was in here and hurt, or even worse. Dread pooled in my stomach rather than the hope that was in there a second ago.

"Bells?" Sam asked me softly, his voice so soft, so compassionate that tears started forming in my eyes.

"Here I'll do it B." Dean said, his voice also soft, caring. His hand took mine and tried to take the key out of it. Deans hand was soft and gentle, making me feel stronger, more connected and back in the real world somehow.

I turned to face both men. "Thanks but no, he's my dad, I'll do it." I said in a voice no louder than a whisper. A tear escaping down my face which I roughly brushed away before facing the door again. My heart sinking I put the key in the door and pushed it open.

The room was empty, I was half relieved, half devastated. He wasn't here which meant that there was more chance that he was ok, that he was alive and un-hurt. But he wasn't here, we'd reached yet another dead end.

I walked into the clean, light room. There were pictures of the seven girls on the wall, string coming from them and stopping at pins on a map. The places the girls had gone missing from I guessed. At least we were right about one thing, Charlie had been on this hunt.

"Dean." Sam said quietly from the desk by the window. He was leafing through some papers that my dad had obviously left there.

I went across to the desk with Dean. "What is it?" Dean asked, his face hard and his voice serious.

"Read this." Sam said passing across a piece of paper to his brother.

Dean scanned the paper, holding it slightly out of my eye sight. "Seals? Charlie's on to it?" Dean asked his brother sounding both confused and impressed.

"Yeah, and he's made the connection dude." Sam said, his voice sounding like it was far away as he went through more papers on the desk. A deep frown marring his face.

"About what?" Dean asked, his voice even harder, reading the paper he was holding again, making sure he'd not missed anything I was guessing.

"About what started it." Sam said looking at Dean pointedly. He didn't have to revert to silent conversations, I didn't have a clue what either of them were talking about anyway. What were seals? Those blubbery fat animals that lived in the sea?

They were silent for a few minutes as they looked through more pieces of paper, I guessed that I wasn't going to learn anything from them, so I started looking in other parts of the room. Under the bed, in the chest of drawers and in the closet.

I hit pay load in the closet. It was at the very back, it should have been hidden behind layers of clothes, but all the clothes had been taken. So it was on show for all to see. It was a map, with places circled on it, a huge map, one of the entire USA. And next to every circle was something written. One of them said 'werewolf not on the full moon' another read 'nest of vampires'. I didn't understand any of it. But this was a clue right? Somewhere that told us where Charlie could possibly be.

"Er... Guys?" I said, stepping back from the closet so they could take a look. "I think I've got something."

Sam and Dean came over, looking in the closet as well. "Well that's just peachy." Dean grumbled sounding both annoyed and upset. I got the whole annoyed thing, I really felt that one, but I didn't get why the hunter was upset. Well not unless he was taking the whole empathy thing to a new level anyway.

Sam glanced at Dean. "We've got to get these back to the motel dude, look through them properly. And what about...?" He trailed off while shooting a glance at me.

"Need to know basis Sammy. And she don't need to know." Dean said. I didn't like the fact that they were hiding things from me, things that might actually tell me where my dad was. But at the same time I trusted them, if they said I didn't need to know then they were probably right. And I probably didn't want to know either.

"Yeah, you're probably right. If we're taking this stuff back then, we can't have the maid..." Sam started saying only to be cut off by Dean.

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes and then turned to look at me with a smirk. "Got a job for you sweetheart." I had a feeling I was not going to like this somehow.

"Head on back to the motel, tell the chick at reception that we don't want the maid coming in. Also pick us up some food while you're at it." Dean said with a smirk that looked forced.

I rolled my eyes but handed over the key to Charlie's room anyway. At least I could be useful somehow. "You want me to pick your dry cleaning up while I'm being your errand girl?" I asked Dean with a smirk off my own.

Dean just smirked back at me before turning back to the closet. I left the room, heading out of the hotel through the fire escape rather than through reception, I didn't want to face anyone right now.

I walked a couple of blocks towards the motel when I felt as though something wasn't right. I felt as though someone was watching me.

I patted my pocket, making sure that my gun was still in place before picking up the pace and checking my surroundings. The street was empty, completely empty, but still I felt as though something was following me. Spying on me.

I relaxed a little when I saw the motel up ahead, it was fine, I was safe. I could hole up in the motel, wait for Sam and Dean, tell them what happened and see if they could find anything. I'd be out of the way and safe. Win, win for all involved.

Too late I heard footsteps behind me, I turned just in time to see what looked like the end of a baseball bat coming towards my head. Pain shot through my head, intense pain like I'd never felt before. Then nothing, blackness.

~0~

I woke up with one hell of a headache and not a clue where I was. I couldn't remember for the life of me what had happened to get me here. Maybe I'd gone out with the Winchesters or something?

I opened my eyes and went to rub my head, hoping that might take away some of the pressure. I couldn't move my hands though, and something was cutting into my wrists pretty damn hard. So hard that it was painful. What the..?

I looked around me properly for the first time. I wasn't in the motel room, or even in Deans car. That much I was sure of. I was in a stone room, underground somewhere I'd guess from the coldness and the dripping water. The room was round, and I was tied to a chair on a raised platform in it. In front of me was a sunken stone pit, red markings on the floor of it. Black and red candles littered the entire room.

I wasn't the only one in the room, there were five other girls tied to chairs, four of them were gagged. And I recognised them all, these were the girls that had gone missing. Well five of them anyway. The wall flowers, the shy, quiet, reserved ones. The ones I fitted in with.

"Hey?" I said loudly to the girl who wasn't gagged, she was a pale, dark haired girl with glasses and she looked terrified. "Hey, what's going on?" I asked her, my heart beating a rhythm with my pounding head. I felt something run down my face as I moved my head; blood, I could smell it. But I was way too terrified to pass out right now. I needed my wits about me and my body seemed to recognise that as it refused to give in to the dizzy feeling that was overcoming me.

"They only need one more now." The girl whispered to me, her voice dry and crackly. She then looked at the floor, her eyes holding dismay and defeat.

"Who's they? Who are they? Need one more for what?" I asked, petrified. The girl didn't answer, she just carried on looking at her shoes. Guess I know why she hadn't been gagged then.

I looked around me, trying to look for anything that might help me escape, that might help us all escape. I found nothing, nothing to help us at all. We were screwed. How long had I been here for? Would Sam and Dean know that I was missing yet? Would they be looking for me? My money was on that they would look for me. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

I wondered what the brothers would do in my place. I had nothing though, I couldn't think of anything to help. I almost groaned in frustration. Why for once could I not be the damsel in distress? Why couldn't I be strong enough, good enough, resourceful enough to make my own way out? After this was over I was so going to demand that Dean and Sam taught me a thing or two. Like how to get out of situations like this for example. Well that was if I got out of this alive.

I struggled with my bonds even though it chaffed my wrists making them hurt more. They seemed inescapable, unbreakable. I felt my wrists burn and my skin break but I didn't give up despite how futile it seemed. I couldn't give up. I was determined that this time I wasn't going to be helpless, I'd never given in without a fight before even when I was face to face with a blood thirsty vampire and I sure as hell wasn't going to give in without a fight now.

I don't know how long I struggled for, it felt like hours, I got tired, and hungry, I wanted water and I needed the toilet. I eventually gave in, hoping a new and better plan might come to me. One that didn't involve me soiling myself.

After what felt like an age I heard footsteps descending what sounded like stairs. I froze, this wasn't going to be good, of that I was sure. Especially as how all the girls were looking towards a dark wooden door set into one of the bare stone walls and were struggling against their bonds. Yeah, not good.

The door opened and seven cloaked figures walked into the room. They wore black robes with hoods, with red strings around their waists holding them together. I didn't know what they were yet, I couldn't tell, they could be demons, vampires, wendingo's, heck they could even be ghosts for all I knew. Though going on what I'd read I was pretty sure that they weren't ghosts.

The figures moved onto the raised platform where we all sat. One by one they stopped in front of a girl and looked her over, offering food and water. Taking away gags to feed and water the girls. At least they were taking care of us until whatever they were going to do to us happened.

My turn came, the last in the line and I looked up at my captors. They seemed to be human, just seven humans. A mixture of women and men, all older, at least in their late thirties but that was the only similarity, some were fat, some thing, some butt ugly and some very beautiful.

This might be my only chance. "What do you want from me?" I asked in a tiny scared voice, acting a little bit more scared and a little more shy and quite than I was.

A man spoke up, he had a smile on his face, one that raised goosebumps down my back. He was probably late into his fifties, with a silver beard and deep brown eyes that held nothing but malice in them. "We want your life." The man simply said, lifting a goblet to my mouth.

I shifted away from it in my seat as much as I could, refusing the water that was being offered despite my thirst. It was then that inspiration struck. The knife that I'd stowed on myself earlier, in my waistband, they hadn't moved it. It was still in place. I grabbed it slowly with my hands, terrified that I'd drop it or that one of the robed people would spot it.

"Leave it. You'll drink when you're thirsty enough." A woman said in a posh voice to me.

As a group they made their way to a platform on the other side of the circle. There they sat in chairs clustered together. "What news have we on procuring a seventh, Victor?" The woman who'd addressed me said to a man, who's face was hidden.

"No closer, but we are working on it high priestess." The man said, his voice high pitched.

"Midnight will fast approach and then we shall only have hours in which to complete our tasks. Leave now Victor, and do not return until you have the seventh." The woman said. Oh, great I was going to have to sit and listen to a damn board meeting of the criminally insane. And I'd thought today couldn't get any worse.

I kept working on my restraints with the silver knife, getting more excited and feeling more bold with every strand I felt break.

As the pressure on my wrists started to lessen I remembered what Dean had told me. You had to have fun on the job. I might as well try it, it wasn't going to making anything worse after all.

"Hey guys? What's with the whole tying us up deal? I'm really not into that whole fifty shades of grey thing!" I shouted at the gathered people across the room, making them all turn to look at me.

"Jonas, gag our newest guest please." The woman said addressing a man who got up and quickly started to walk towards me. I sawed faster at my restraints, it was now or never.

"Yeah, I much preferred the other book. What was it called...?" I asked pretending to think as Jonas stood in front of me a piece of material clutched in his hands. He leant forward and I yanked my hands free, the knife still firmly in my grasp. "That was it, fifty shades freed!" I said jumping up and kicking the man in the shin.

He stumbled backward, more from shock than pain I thought, but it worked, he fell into the sunken pit with a crash.

I ran to the girl sat next to me and quickly cut through her restraints as the robed people gathered there wits and started coming towards me. "Run!" I told the girl, fully intending to try and keep them away so at least one of us was out of here, alive.

"Bella!" I heard a deep voice shout out from above, coming from the ceiling. Relief washed through me so strong that my knees almost gave way.

"I'm here!" I shouted back, before the robed guys were upon me. I kicked, punched and slashed at them with my knife. None of my kicks, or punches making contact unfortunately. But the knife made contact and slashed through the woman who seemed to be in charge's arm. Blood gushing out from the wound making me feel dizzy, but yet again I refused it give into it.

The door to the chamber burst open, the Winchesters stood there in the doorway looking fierce and angry. Both men carried a shotgun and a handgun each.

I turned to look at them with relief when I was grabbed from behind. "Drop the guns or I kill the girl." A posh voice said, a bleeding arm crushing my windpipe and something hard pressed to my head.

"Don't! Don't hurt her, we'll drop the guns." Dean said, his voice panicked, his eyes fearful. Together him and Sam started lowering their guns to the floor. Eyes never leaving me. I shook my head at them, what were they doing? They could save the other four girls, they could get everyone else out of here and kill the bad guys. That was what mattered, not me.

I couldn't let this happen, not cause of me. No way. I wasn't damning other people to death just because I was stupid enough to turn my back on the people trying to kill me. Anger flared red hot through my body.

I raised my foot high and brought it down with force onto the priestess foot. She howled in pain and instantly dropped her arms. I darted out of her arms and dropped to the floor as the Winchesters once again raised their guns. I didn't want to be caught in the middle of that cross fire.

Deafeaning gun shots echoed around the cavernous room, the only other thing that I could hear was the girls screams. After a minute or two, the gunshots ceased and I dared to look up, my ears ringing badly from the gun blasts.

I saw Sam freeing the girls with a knife similar to my own and Dean almost running to my side. "Bella!" He shouted dropping down to his knees and gently lifting me under the shoulders. "How are you doing?" He asked me as he sat looking me over, taking in my bloodied and cut wrists as well as my injured head, his eyes showing fear and worry.

"I'll be doing a hell of a lot better once we're out of here." I said standing up with a wince. If I could go one day this week without receiving an injury or being attacked that would be nice.

Dean stood up, putting a steadying hand on the small of my back. "We heard ya up there. The fifty shades thing. Funny." Dean told me while raising his eyebrows. Concern still in his eyes but being well hidden by humour and a smirk.

"Yeah you were right. I did have fun on the job." I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "I'm actually thinking of a career in comedy now."

"How did ya get out?" Dean asked me, as we started walking over to Sam who had freed the girls and was now waiting for us at the exit.

"I stashed a knife on myself earlier." I explained, knowing that they wouldn't need more than that to understand.

"What were they?" I asked looking back one last time on the now dessicated robed people who had tried to kill us all.

"Satanists, giving an offering of youth and virtue." Sam said, his tone disgusted. "This group called themselves the devils advocates, Victor up there was more than happy to talk." Sam explained at my confused look.

I nodded, feeling slightly dizzy again. I was going to be sacrificed? Bastards deserved to be shot then.

"More like devil's rejects now." Dean said with a chuckle, earning himself wide eyed incredulous looks from both me and Sam. "What?"

"Dude that was weak." Sam replied as together we started walking slowly up the stone stairs towards freedom.

~0~

"So where do we go from here?" I asked the brothers half an hour later as everything we owned was packed back into the car and we were speeding out of town.

"There's a couple of places we could hit. But we're not overly sure yet. Charlie's hunting something, that much we know. So we know he's one of about five places, not which one though. We need help. We need something to point us in the right direction." Sam explained to me from the drivers seat, as some soft rock music washed over us from the speakers.

"Erm... I've been thinking." I said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

"Go on." Sam said, glancing at me through the rear view mirror.

I winced and glared at Dean, "ouch!" I said, Dean was in the back-seat with me, patching me up from my small battle. So far he'd put butterfly stitches on my head and dabbed at my wrists with something that smelt bad and burnt. It wasn't pleasant.

"Sorry sweetheart." He murmured as he put a couple of bandages around my right wrist. Dean then looked up, catching my eye and making me unable to look away. I was transfixed. His beautiful green eyes were staring into my own boring brown owns, compassion and caring staring back at me. His eyes softened and a small sincere smile crossed his full lips. "That should be better now." He told me, his voice soft, barely more than a whisper, sending gentle shivers down my back. His deep rough voice coaxing something inside of me.

"Thanks." I said, my eyes still not breaking contact and my voice also a whisper.

"What were you thinking Bells?" Sam asked me, breaking whatever spell Deans eyes had cast on me. I looked away, blushing as I did. What was going on with me?

"Ok, well I'm guessing that I'll probably be with you guys till I find my dad right?" I said, my voice slightly nervous, I didn't know how they'd react to this.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam shrugged from the front.

"And you guys will be on hunts right?"

"Yeah." Dean said sounding suspicious, his eyes looking anywhere but at me.

"Then I want to learn." I said more boldly then I felt.

"Learn what exactly sweetheart?" Dean asked, his voice colder now but his eyes snapping to me.

"How to protect myself and other people, how to pick a lock, how to shoot a gun, how to get out of restraints and get the heck away. How to throw a decent punch." I took a deep breath, my voice loud and assured. But I wanted this, I wanted to learn, to not be the victim for once, to not be helpless anymore. "I want you to teach me how to hunt." I declared to the now silent car. The only sound was the soft tones of Blue Oyster Cults 'Don't fear the Reaper' flowing through the tense atmosphere.

So... What did everyone think? Will the guys just teach Bella how to hunt? Or do you think that there might be a little bit of resistance? Let me know what you thought of the chaps, I'll be back next week with more :)

Love always Tametiger x