3 - Vise Squad

"Idjit" was the nicest thing Bobby Singer had to say to Dean. Dean took it like a man, nodding at the abuse in all the right places as he sipped morosely at his beer.

"I know I fucked up again," Dean admitted when a red-faced Bobby finally stopped to chug his beer and catch his breath. "Won't be the last time, either."

"No shit!" Bobby tossed his empty bottle into the glass recycling bin and turned to his surrogate son. "Boy, if there really is an angel watching out for you? Then you seem determined to make him work overtime. When will you understand that you cannot solve all your problems with a punch in the face?"

Dean spread his hands. "To be fair, it worked rather well."

"No it didn't! Did you not hear a single word I said?!" Bobby took off his hat, wiped at his brow with a bent wrist, and popped the hat back on, glowering under the bill at Dean. "You've got the brains of a woodpecker pounding on an aluminum telephone pole! Bad enough you have a record here. Considering what you do for the Cajun? What, exactly, do you think will happen if you slip up and someone catches on to you in another state? If they put together all of the shit you've done over the years, realize how big the Cajun's network actually is…?"

"I won't ever roll on Benny or the network," Dean growled. "You know that, or you wouldn't have introduced us in the first place."

"It ain't Benny I'm worried about," Bobby insisted. "I taught him everything he knows. That bastard can take care of himself and has done so more than once. It's you that's got me worried, ya idjit!"

"Why?" Dean challenged. "You taught me, too, you know."

"Yes, but you only paid attention to half of the lessons. You're smart, you're tough, you're a hell of a fighter, but it's like you have no sense of self-preservation at all. You're taking too many chances, especially on these jobs. Benny's been doing this for as long as I've known him. If he tells you something's a two-person job, then for God's sake, go with a partner!"

"Partners slow me down," Dean explained. "I can't…"

"Boy, I don't give a shit!" Bobby spat, digging in the fridge for another beer. "If you don't want to work with someone else, fine, work alone. Just don't take any two-man jobs!"

"Ok, I got it," Dean groaned, rubbing his temples. "Can we talk about something else?"

Bobby plopped down into his chair. "Sure. You talk to Sam lately?"

Dean immediately perked up. Leave it to Bobby to pick one of Dean's favorite subjects. He spent the rest of the afternoon chatting away with Bobby.

It was almost like old times. Dean was almost sorry to leave.

The Rajun' Cajun Bar and Grill was a dive in the middle of a swamp. You nearly always had to walk through either water or mud to get to the wooden bridge of dubious construction that crossed a small stream. It was the only way to get to the bar, unless you were inclined to swim with alligators. Dean also happened to know that Benny kept a large, vicious pair of alligators in a well-hidden, well-tended pen just under the porch of the establishment.

Money couldn't buy better security.

The Rajin' Cajun himself was behind the bar. As usual, Dean had entered just after closing time. The owner/operator was busy polishing glasses before setting them neatly behind the bar. Say what you would, Benny ran a clean establishment.

"So how was jail?" Benny wanted to know when Dean walked in.

"Wonderful," Dean grumbled. "You should be there on Thursdays, you'll love the meatloaf."

Benny came around to give him a hug. "Make any new friends?"

"Might have made a new enemy or two," Dean replied, returning the hug.

Benny stepped back and grinned at him. "Suck any dick?"

"Just your mom's."

Benny laughed and clapped Dean on the back. "Do you think you might someday leave Sioux Falls without getting drunk and cutting up all over town?"

"Someday I might," Dean offered as he followed his friend into the back. "You know, for variety."

"You're going to get into some trouble that Bobby and I can't get you out of sooner or later, brother," Benny warned, leading the way behind the kitchen. "Then what will I do?"

"I imagine you'll cry yourself to sleep every night and write me love poems in your diary." Dean slid into the familiar chair across from Benny's rickety desk. "What do you have for me?"

Benny got into his file cabinet. "You know getting arrested is bad for business, right?" he called over his shoulder.

"That's why I only ever get arrested in Sioux Falls," Dean explained. "I wouldn't want to make Jody jealous of anyone else who gets to slap the cuffs on me. Bobby already tore me a new one, Benny, and you know I never get caught on a job. Even if I did, I'd make sure nothing was ever traced back to you."

"I know that, brother," Benny corrected. "And that's not what I'm worried about. Just worried about you, is all."

"Yes, mother." Dean made grabby motions with his hands, reaching towards the file Benny had selected. "Gimme something good, would you? I need to burn off some stress."

"Then you'll love this." Benny handed the file to Dean. "Your favorite flavor of shit, Dean. Beat his wife and kids, cheated, gambled, known connection to a white supremacist group, but had the better lawyer and got everything in the divorce. She was left with the kids and the clothes on her back."

"Nice." Dean flipped through the file, frowning as he read. "These ER reports? Look at this, fall, fall, ran into a door, seriously, she actually gave the 'ran into a door' excuse? What an asshole! Oh, I do love these fuckers, thank you, Benny!"

"Don't mention it," Benny said. "Anyway, the lady doesn't want anything but to have him out of her life and away from her and the kids. Oh, her mother's jewelry. Fucker claimed he sold it and already spent the money, but the lady says that's shit. She says her mother's sapphire and diamond earrings, ring, and bracelet are still in the bastard's safe at his place."

"Which is why she came to you."

Benny shrugged. "I am the Rajun' Cajun, after all."

Dean frowned at the pictures in the file. The man looked to be considerably larger than the lady. Even in the pictures, she looked nervous, especially those where he had his hand on her. "She need to sell the jewels for cash?"

"I suppose that's an option, but it's not what she wants 'em back for," Benny explained. "Those jewels are family heirlooms. Her grandmother fled Germany ahead of the SS. She was the only one who survived to get to the States. Had those jewels sewed into the lining of her dress, those and some others. She got here as a teenaged girl. Had to sell a few of her family jewels, no doubt at bullshit prices, just to set herself up. But after that, she got married and raised a family with her own two hands. Those jewels are all my client has left of her mom. Whole family's gone except her and the kids."

"And this fucker won't give them back?" Dean made moon eyes at Benny. "Benny, you're better than Santa Claus. Can I kiss you?"

"Sure, soon as I drop my pants." Benny waved his hand in a shooing motion at Dean. "Go find this piece of shit and put his balls in a vise until he opens that safe for you. The lady didn't get fuck all else from this bastard. Least we can do is give her back her mother's jewelry."

"Can do!"

The man who was so tough when it came to knocking around women and children was sobbing like a baby. "Please," he begged. "Please, don't do this?"

"I want the combination to the safe," Dean reminded. His hand was on the handle. "Or I give this another nudge."

"There's nothing in there!" the man whined. "I gave you all the money and valuables in the house. The safe is just for show. Do you want drugs? If you look in the top drawer, you can take my stash. Whatever you want, just…"

Dean rolled his eyes and nudged the handle.

The resulting screams made Dean's ears hurt even through the ear plugs he'd put in under his balaclava. At least he'd come prepared. He'd expertly knocked his victim out before he even knew that Dean was there. By the time the bastard woke up, Dean had already stolen as much as he could carry, after he'd fastened the previous owner securely down, with a cold metal vise clamped gently around his balls.

Unfortunately for him, that vise wasn't so gentle anymore.

A few more nudges and Dean knew the combination. Then he nudged it a couple more times, just to make sure it was the right combination. It was always good to make sure, and if the man would never again be able to father another child to abuse, well, that was bonus.

Dean snagged the jewels, along with a few packs of bills that were also in the safe. So much for empty. Dean shoved it all in his bag, certain the man's ex-wife would find far better use for the money than the piece of shit he'd just taken it from.

By the time he'd returned to his sobbing, pitiful new friend, the man's testicles had already turned a nasty shade of purple. Dean took a moment to admire. Then he flicked open a knife.

Turns out, it was difficult to carve a swastika on someone's head when they were screaming and thrashing around. Dean had to get a tight grip on the man's hair with one hand and carve with the other. He wasn't pleased with the result, but he supposed it got the job done. Finished, he wiped the blood from the blade on the weeping man's shirt and pocketed the knife. He raised one hand and clicked his heels sharply together. "Heil, Hitler!" he intoned. Then he turned to go.

"Wait!" the man screamed. "Come back! You gotta get my nuts out of this thing. They're gonna fall off! Come on, man, you can't leave me like this!"

Dean immediately proved him wrong. He took a quick look around, double-checking that he hadn't left any evidence behind. A moment later, he was out of the house.

It was fortunate that the bastard had no close neighbors and double-paned windows. It had kept anyone from hearing the screams of his wife and children. Now, no one could hear his. How long would it be before someone reported him missing? Dean had no way to know.

Frankly, he couldn't be bothered to care. He'd phone it in tomorrow. Most he was willing to do for the fucker.

"Nice work," Benny complimented when Dean turned in his loot. "You sure you don't want some of this money, brother?"

"Nah," Dean replied. "She needs it more than me. Just make sure she knows she can't ever wear any of that jewelry anywhere that fucker might see, or he'll know she was involved."

"Not much chance of that," Benny informed him. "She's moving back to her hometown in another state, and the bastard hasn't shown any interest in her or the kid since the divorce."

"Well, when I left him, it didn't seem likely he'd ever show much interest in anyone ever again," Dean declared. "I imagine the local white supremacist group might just be short one member, too."

"I may just cry myself to sleep over that." Benny gave Dean a cocky grin. "Drinks on me!"

Dean waved a hand. "Just give me another case, Benny. I got some more frustration to work out, and you know how I get when I'm like that and drink."

Benny's smile quickly faded. "I hear you there, but Dean, the only thing I've got right now is a two-man job."

"I'll take it." Dean held out his hand.

Benny's smile had morphed into a frown. "Dean? You can count to two, right? I told you, this is a two-man job."

"And I told you I'll take it." Dean was still holding out his hand. "You know I've done them before."

"Yeah, and the last time, you damn near got yourself killed!"

"I was careless," Dean insisted. "Learned my lesson. Won't happen again."

"The careless part came from you taking a two-man job on your own in the first place," Benny argued. He picked up his phone. "Let me make some calls, get you a partner…"

"Dammit, Benny, I don't need a partner!" Dean insisted. "There is a reason I'm your best operative. I've proven I can handle the tough cases. Lately, you've given me softball shit that even Garth could handle."

Benny cocked an eyebrow. "Garth's been getting a lot better."

"My point is, I'm ready for something with a little more meat," Dean replied. His patience was being strained, but it was never a good idea to piss off Benny. "You know how I work, Benny. I'll scout it out, go slow, make sure I know what I'm getting into." He spread his hands. "If it's too much, I'll call Garth myself."

Benny gave him a dubious look. For a moment, the two simply stared at each other. Finally, Benny sighed. "I better not regret this," he grumbled as he turned to pull the file. "You get killed on this mission, I may just kill myself to come after you for the sole purpose of kicking your ass!"

"I'll be waiting." Dean eagerly took the file. "Thanks, Benny! You won't regret it."