20 - The Big Tent Revival

"Man, this is nuts," Dean grumbled as he trailed behind Sammy. "Do you believe all these people?"

Sam didn't slow down, but Jo shot him a glare. "They're desperate, Dean," she mumbled. "They're coming here hoping for a miracle, and they're willing to give what little they have to get it. Adler's a complete and utter piece of shit! It was all I could do to keep from punching him right in his smug face when we were here before."

"Shut up, both of you," Ellen called. "Don't do anything to call attention to yourselves. I'm still against Dean being here. Jimmy nearly gave everything away when he saw us! If he sees Dean…?"

"You gave him the note," Bobby grunted. He scowled as Sam managed to push his wheelchair over a bump. "He knows Dean will be there. All he's got to do is keep it together until we can make our move."

"Jimmy will be fine," Dean assured.

"I know," Bobby retorted. "I was talking about you."

"Yeah, well, I'll be fine, too." Dean said it as much to himself as anyone else. Ellen, Bobby, and Jo had filled him in. Jimmy, apparently, was well under the control of this Adler douchebag. Even when Bobby had pressed him, Jimmy kept to the plan. It meant one of three things. One, Jimmy was playing Adler, biding his time until he could escape. Dean hoped for this, because it meant Jimmy was still himself, despite being in Adler's clutches for over two months now. Two, Jimmy was being controlled, held against his will, but still had enough presence of mind to be able to keep up appearances. This was the theory that the others were putting stock in.

But it was the third theory that worried Dean the most. Dean was aware that there was a chance Jimmy had been broken completely, that he was either fully in on the act or even believed he really was the Angel Castiel. If that were the case, Jimmy would have turned over the note immediately once Bobby and the Harvelles had gone. Then Adler would be waiting for them, and Jimmy wouldn't leave willingly.

If the third option was true, Dean planned on physically forcing Jimmy away. If that meant knocking Jimmy over the head and dragging his unconscious body, so be it. He'd get Jimmy help, even if it meant putting Jimmy into the mental hospital where he'd been. Whatever it took. It was the least he could do, after what Jimmy had given up to free Dean.

Dean's dark thoughts churned and curdled as they made their way to the tent. There was a $10 cover charge. Seriously?! Bad enough these bastards were planning on bilking desperate people, but they actually had the testicular fortitude to charge people for the privilege of walking into the crowded, muddy, smelly tent? Unbelievable.

Dean noticed a sign just behind the ticket takers. Apparently, it wasn't just Adler performing tonight. He didn't even seem to be the headliner here. His name was on the board, but it was maybe half the size of the name above it, some douchebag called "Father Dinario" that Dean had never heard of. Granted, his knowledge of sleazy faith healers was limited. Many of his fellow tent dwellers were talking excitedly to each other, mentioning Dinario's name more than once. That was surprising. Listening in, Dean did catch "Angel Castiel" a time or two, but not nearly as much as Dinario. Apparently, Adler was about to be overshadowed, even with Jimmy. That did Dean's bitter heart good.

Up front, a choir began to perform, ululating and caterwauling enthusiastically, swaying and rhythmically clapping their hands. Immediately, the crowd got into it, cheering and shouting, raising hands skyward. Dean shifted uncomfortably. He was certainly a believer, but something about this whole thing just seemed off. Somehow, Dean doubted that it was really God getting much glory here.

Oh look, here came the dick of the hour. Adler pranced up on the stage. He was wearing a long, flowing robe that he looked in imminent danger of tripping over as he ran back and forth, shouting "Hallelujah!" into the microphone he held in one hand while his other stretched skyward. The crowd cheered and clapped. But they really went wild when Father Dinario racewalked up onto the stage. The man's steely grey hair was perfectly styled and gelled in place. He had a Rhett Butler mustache, flashing dark eyes, perfect teeth, and an expensive suit complete with a gold Rolex watch. Dean couldn't resist humming a bit of "Would Jesus Wear A Rolex" under his breath, more than buried under the excited cheers of the crowd.

Somehow, Sam heard him, if the bitchface suddenly leveled in his direction was anything to go by. Dean immediately went silent.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one in the tent who was less than thrilled about the arrival of Dinario. Adler's smile morphed into a grimace. It was the very definition of a forced smile. Dean realized that Adler didn't care much for being upstaged.

What followed was an unbearable amount of time filled with yelling and hand waving and noise from the choir competing with the rowdy crowd. The people around Dean screamed and jumped up and down, pumped their fists in the air and occasionally fell onto the muddy ground, sobbing in ecstasy. The heat and body odor were, in Dean's opinion, far more likely to cause the holy rolling happening in the tent than any true touch of the spirit. Dean shuddered, wondering if this is what Jimmy had been enduring since the day he'd fallen back into Adler's hands?

"We're going to witness a miracle tonight," Dinario was saying. "I'm talking about a genuine holy angel of the Lord, coming down right here tonight to heal these people I've got on this stage." He gestured towards the side of the stage, where a small group of about three people had gathered. One was being pushed in a wheelchair, one hobbled on crutches, and the third tapped a white cane. "We're going to see the lame walk. We're going to watch the blind see. And we're going to hear a man who has never said a word in his entire life speak to us right here tonight. It's all going to happen, right here tonight on this very stage, isn't that right, Brother Adler?"

Adler's smile had vanished the moment Dinario mentioned an angel. Apparently, Dinario had just stolen his lines because he could only sputter for a moment. His fake smile quickly returned, and with it, Adler's smoothness. "That's right, Father Dinario. The Angel Castiel himself hears my call. He will come today, right here on this stage, and he will perform these miracles that I will ask of him!"

Nice, Dean thought, seeing a look of irritation flash over Dinario's face. Way to turn that back to yourself, asshole. So far, watching the little battle going on up on the stage was the only real source of entertainment Dean had found in this tent.

"The Angel Castiel will come for us all, Brother Adler," Dinario quickly corrected. The man was cool as a cucumber. "Let us join hands and call to him now. Good people, I'd like to ask you to bow your heads in prayer. Let's lift our prayers to Heaven to bring our mighty angel down into our midst."

Dean was watching for the mist that Bobby and the ladies had mentioned. Now he saw it. Someone was apparently playing with some dry ice backstage because mist was rising. The crowd saw it too and began loudly praying and pleading for the angel to appear.

Dean startled as a hand closed on his wrist. "Cool it, boy," Bobby warned. "You do anything to give things away, and chances are those two idjits turn this whole crowd on us and take off with Jimmy again. Stay frosty!"

That helped. Dean reined in his temper somehow, watching as Adler dropped to his knees. "Oh, great and powerful Castiel, you have promised me that you will always come when I call," he intoned, nicely stealing Dinario's thunder back once again. "I call to you now to…"

"Spread your mighty wings, your feathers black as night, and join us now!" Dinario roared, creating a small amount of feedback in his microphone and causing a look of incredulity to appear on Adler's face. "Join us, Castiel!"

Finally, Jimmy appeared. Dean could see his wings first, the massive black limbs that he hadn't seen in entirely too long flapping to clear the mist. Dean saw that one was just a bit stiffer than the other and his heart ached. Clearly, Jimmy's injuries hadn't been given adequate time to properly heal. But here Jimmy was, all magnificent and mysterious, looking just like an actual angel in his white robe. The crowd roared, jumping up and down, blocking Dean's view. Annoyed, Dean ignored the hissing of his friends and forced his way towards the front, desperate to let Jimmy see him.

The moment those incredible blue eyes fell on him, everything about Jimmy changed. He straightened, wings rising with the feathers fluffing. His expression morphed from hopeful to soft, eyes locked with Dean's. His lips turned upward in a small smile. Dean smiled back, trying to project everything he was feeling through his eyes. I'm sorry, Jimmy. I love you. I'll get you out of this and I will never, ever let you go again!

Suddenly Adler was there, grasping Jimmy's arm. "Angel Castiel," his voice boomed, visibly startling Jimmy. "I thank you for once again answering my prayers."

Jimmy glanced at Adler, looked back at Dean, and quickly returned his attention to Adler. Dean, watching closely, saw the faint wince that crossed Jimmy's features and clenched his fists. That fucker had obviously just given Jimmy's arm a hard squeeze, forcing Jimmy's head back in the game. Alright. He'd done what he'd come for. Jimmy knew Dean was here. Satisfied, Dean made his way back to his exasperated friends. "You don't listen, Dean," Sammy hissed at him. "It's been like this ever since we were kids. You never listen!"

Dean wasn't listening. He was on his cell, sending a text to Benny, who was stationed outside. "Sending the signal," he whispered back.

"Dean, are we sure this is the right thing to do?" Ellen asked softly, her voice well hidden under the noise of the crowd as Jimmy "healed" the supposedly blind man and Adler and Dinario continued their game of one-upmanship. "This tent is full of people who really can't avoid being trampled if something goes wrong and there's a stampede!"

"If Benny does his job right, and he's very good at his job?" Dean whispered back. "The only stampede will be backstage, and happening any minute."

His words proved prophetic when a scream ran out from behind the stage. A woman came running out, jumped off the stage, and raced out of the tent. A moment later, more shrieks rose from the choir. Soon their was a mass exodus from that section of the stage. The crowd, quick to pick up the fact that something was wrong, began to make its uneasy way towards the exits.

"Demon!" Adler roared. "Angel Castiel, I implore you, go back and rid these good people of its evil influence. Ladies and gentlemen, this fight is beyond our human comprehension. I ask you to please exit the tent. Don't run. Trust in the Lord and His angel, and you will be protected."

"That's pretty much the only good thing that bastard has probably ever done in his entire life," Ellen noted, moving with the rest of the crowd in a quick but orderly fashion towards the tent exits. "What's Benny doing back there?"

"Pepe and Penelope," Dean announced with a smug grin. "Benny's pet skunks. They've had their scent glands removed, but these assholes don't know that, do they? Ok, let's get moving!"

The five all knew their parts to play. Before sneaking backstage with his skunks, the Rajin' Cajun had already disabled the Adlers' RV. There was no danger of it going anywhere. Bobby would keep a close eye on Zachariah Adler. The Harvelles would keep track of Hannah Adler, including subduing the woman if necessary (Dean thought that Jo was a bit too enthusiastic about that possibility). Dean and Sam would be in charge of actually finding and rescuing Jimmy.

With their roles firmly in mind, the Harvelles set out after Hannah, who had been the first one to run out of the tent when Benny's skunks made an appearance. Bobby casually got out of his wheelchair and started after Adler. Dean grabbed his brother's arm. "Come on, he's backstage," he called excitedly. "We've got to get him out!"

"Careful," Sam warned, following as Dean practically dragged him towards the side of the stage, where they could see a set of stairs leading to the backstage area. "They're bound to have something in place to make sure Jimmy can't just run off. If we go charging back there, he might get hurt!"

Dean forced himself to slow down.

Then one of the skunks peeked its curious head out, sniffed the air, and waddled serenely onto the stage with its partner close behind. Screams filled the air. Orderly exit went out the window as people raced for their cars. The one true miracle of the night was that no one was hurt.

Backstage, chaos was king. With the skunks nowhere to be seen, apparently the backstage crew was determined to earn its pay. Stagehands were racing around, banging together bits of equipment or their hands or stomping their feet, desperate to avoid accidentally encountering Benny's skunks. People were grabbing individual pieces of equipment or trunks of larger equipment and racing out as fast as they could. Off in one corner, Adler and Dinario were discussing their differences with red faces, waving arms, and pointing fingers. They appeared to be the only ones in the tent outside of Dean's friends who were unconcerned about the skunks. Dean looked around frantically, but could see no sign of his boyfriend among the racing people. Screw this. Dean pointed into the corner near Adler and Dinario and shouted "Skunk!"

Immediately, the number of people backstage dwindled. Even Adler and Dinario put their differences aside to run together. Dean smirked.

Sam smacked him sharply on the back of the head. "Stop drawing attention to yourself!" he hissed.

"It worked, didn't it?" Dean defended, rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe a little too well, Dean, do you see Jimmy anywhere back here?"

Alarmed, Dean looked around. The backstage area was practically empty now, only the bravest of stagehands snagging items on the run. There was no sign of Jimmy. Dean's heart pounded. "They must have already moved him out. Quick, the RV!"

The Winchesters raced out, heading towards the parking lot and the Adlers' RV. The parking lot had cleared out nearly as quickly as the tent. Apparently, no demon from the deepest pit of Hell could frighten the good people of a tent revival more than a pair of skunks.

Ignoring everything else, Dean charged towards the RV and ripped the door open. "Jimmy!" he yelled, climbing in. "I'm here, it's ok. Jimmy!"

"Dean, you idiot, be careful!" Sam hissed, too late to be of any use.

But there was no answer. The RV was empty. Confused, Dean looked around. Sam, who had climbed in after him, frowned. "Something's off about this RV," the younger Winchester announced. "Does it seem a bit smaller inside than it does outside?"

"Yeah, you're right."

The brothers began a quick search, knocking on the walls for hidden rooms. Dean was tapping near the front when Sam called his name. "Dean! There's another door inside of this closet!"

A moment later, they had the door open and were staring in shock at the tiny hidden room. Dean's nose wrinkled from the smell. His heart pounded as his eyes fell on the stray black feathers. They kept him in here, locked him away like an animal. They forced him to perform for them and that may have been the only time he was ever let out. Oh, Jimmy! "We have to find him, Sam," he said aloud.

Next to him, Sam was breathing heavily, his jaw set. "Yeah. We do."

They made their way back outside.

Looking around, Dean caught sight of Zachariah Adler jogging towards the RV, and everything turned red. Suddenly, he was on the ground, his fists flying, pounding again and again into something that yelled and struggled and sprayed him with hot, sticky fluid. Dean saw a pistol being raised out of the corner of his eye, quickly knocked it aside, and went right back to beating the shit out of Adler.

"Dean! Sam! Enough!"

Dean felt himself being dragged away. Benny had him by the arms and was forcing him back, while Bobby was doing the same with Sam. Dean realized with no small amount of pride that Sammy had been right with him in pounding Adler into the muddy ground. That's my boy!

"Where is he?" Dean demanded. "Where's Jimmy?"

Adler groaned. His formerly white robes were bloody and muddy, his face a ruined, swollen mess. "The Angel Castiel has returned to Heaven!" he exclaimed. "But if you attack me again, he'll come back and smite you! I warn you, my angel is…"

Dean succeeded in reaching Adler's fat thigh with his kick. The crooked evangelist howled in pain. "Jimmy isn't an angel, he's a human being, one that you kept locked up in that stinking, cramped, locked little room in your RV, you piece of shit! He's not an angel, he's not an animal, and he sure as fuck isn't your property, so tell me where he is before I fucking rip your nuts off and change your religion!"

Adler peered up at him through one swollen eye. To Dean's amazement, he laughed. "Oh, you're that guy, the one Emmanuel was staying with. I saw you in the paper. Should have known you'd come down here, trying to rescue Emmanuel like a damsel in distress."

"Keep it up," Benny offered. "I'll let Dean go and maybe join in on the fun. I have no qualms about beating the fuck out of a fake preacher. This here is Emmanuel's boyfriend, and I gotta say, I'd believe him when he tells you what he's going to do with your nuts. I suspect he means it. He's been known to do that to people."

Dean saw Adler look back at him and gave him the sweetest, most promising smile he could manage. Adler's expression abruptly changed. "I don't know where he is. Hannah had him in the trunk."

"The trunk?!" Dean exclaimed.

"The equipment trunk," Adler corrected. "Ask that dumb bitch where he is."

"The girls are back near the tent," Bobby offered, releasing Sam. "You must have run right past them, the way you two went racing for that RV."

Dean pulled free from Benny. He kicked Adler where he'd be certain the man would walk funny and sing soprano for days, then ran back towards the tent.

The Harvelles were standing with a familiar dark haired woman with her back to Sam and Dean. Oddly enough, Ellen and Jo didn't appear to be threatening Hannah. Instead, mother and daughter had their arms around the other woman in a manner that could only be comforting. "Jimmy!" Dean called, running up to them. "Adler said she's got him in a trunk."

The Harvelles grew wide-eyed and immediately pulled back. Hannah seemed to shrink in on herself. "I told you!" she cried. "I told you I deserve everything he gives me."

Dean grabbed her by the arm and jerked her around, only to gasp in shock at what he saw. Bruises, fresh and healing, covered Hannah's face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. When he glanced at Ellen, she shook her head. "We didn't touch her. We found her lying in the mud at the back of the tent. He beat the shit out of her, but we figured out fast that Adler's used his hands on her more than once."

Dean clenched his fists. "That fucker's got a very good idea of what it feels like now, believe me. And I have no doubt Bobby and Benny got a few more licks in after we left. But where's Jimmy, Emmanuel?" Dean looked around, not seeing any sign of an equipment trunk.

Hannah sobbed. "They took him! That's why Zachariah was so angry. Dinario's people attacked me when I brought him out, and they took Emmanuel's trunk. They took him away!"