AN: This is the sort of slower middle part of the story, but the action will pick up very soon. I had fun writing this part, though, adding a bit of Kevin, and messing with Dean. I absolutely loved writing a whole "conversation" between the boys without them saying a word.
BitterSweetJoy: you have no idea how happy your comment made me! Thank you so much!
Blondie: Hey, girl, hey! I have nothing but time and ideas right now, so I'm glad you're enjoying reading and not just sick to me. Or just to nice to admit you're sick of me. hehe
Wildfire: It was like an idea earworm! None of my other ideas were really panning out in my brain, so I thought I'd throw Baby back on the ferry and see what would happen. (Sorry, Dean!) I wouldn't send her to the bottom of the lake though. Probably. I did throw her off a cliff in one of my stories…oops.
Previous chapter: Don't cock your gun at me, Dean Winchester.
It took thirteen hours to drive from Lebanon to Ludington, Michigan, and it felt to Sam that Dean spent most of it gloating over the fact that one of the items pulled from Anthony Matthews' wrecked car looked very much like a hex bag.
On that note, Kevin had made an excellent suggestion – under Dean's hovering supervision, he'd attached surprisingly small "nanny cams" on the ceiling of the Impala just in front of the rearview mirror, and a second in the trunk, just in case someone tried to put a hex bag there. They would send a live stream to Sam's phone.
The prophet had sent them with a different kind of equipment too. "We need to do our own research on this," he said. "And since talking to women tends to make me nauseated, it has to be you two." He'd given Sam a copy of Carl Sagan's Cosmos and a pair of clear-lens glasses. "You wear these and read, while Dan wears his leather jacket and does his bad boy thing. See who gets more attention and report back to me."
"My 'bad boy thing'?" scoffed Dean.
"Yeah, you know, the broody look and do that thing with your lips."
"Do what now?" asked Dean, inadvertently doing the thing with his lips.
"Yeah, that's it." Kevin ignored his confusion. "Sam, be sure you sit down and try not to look so big. You're very intimidating."
"What? I don't try to be intimidating.
"I know. That's why it works so well."
The whole conversation had confused the Winchesters, but Sam had agreed to try the 'look smart kit' and let Kevin know what happened.
"I could have played the smart guy, you know," said Dean suddenly as they pulled up to the dock.
"Of course you could have," replied Sam so placatingly Dean would have been offended if he hadn't suddenly realized it was time to turn over his keys.
"How old are you, anyway?" he demanded of the fresh-faced red-headed kid who was reaching for Baby's keys.
"I'm 20. Sweet ride! Don't worry. The whole time I've worked here, I've never so much as scratched a single vehicle."
Dean dropped the keys with visible reluctance, only partly mollified. "And how long have you worked here – " he read the kid's name tag, "Chase?"
The kid threw a cheeky grin as he put the car into gear. "Two weeks!"
Sam's chuckle and Dean's growl were both lost in the sound of the engine as Chase drove Baby onto the Badger.
WINCHESTER * WINCHESTER
True to the plan, once they were allowed to board, the Winchesters settled themselves in the biggest lounge. Dean sat at the bar, pretending they weren't on a lake too big for its own good with his baby stowed below deck. Sam put on the glasses and sat on a wide, padded bench that spanned the length of the room, opening his book and keeping half an eye on the live feed from the car.
To Dean's utter disgust, within 10 minutes, a lovely woman of Asian descent and a book in her hand sat down next to Sam with a smile and a question about what he was reading. Dean ignored them and smiled at the bartender who gave him only a professional smile in return. He took another pull on the beer and noticed in the mirror that a tall brunette was apparently asking permission to join Sam too. Both dimples appeared when Sam smiled in response and Dean considered revisiting the whole Nair-in-the-shampoo prank. If he recalled, that had been the first time – but not the last – that Sam had ever broken his nose. And Sam was a lot bigger now. Maybe he should take it out on their shrimpy prophet instead. After all, this whole experiment had been his idea. And what kind of sample audience was this anyway? For all he knew, car ferries were just mobile nerd conventions – were there four women around his brother?!
"Don't like the water?" asked a voice that was just the right mix of friendly and sultry.
Wiping the scowl off his face, Dean turned with a smile. A lovely blonde in painted-on jeans sat at the bar next to Dean. Score one for the' bad boy thing.'
"That obvious? I'd much rather be hitting the open road to the tune of a big block V-8," he admitted.
"Who wouldn't? What do you drive?"
"1967 Chevy Impala. She's cherry, too."
"Nice! My dad left me his '66 GTO, but I only drive her for fun, not for my commute."
Dean whistled. That was a nice car. "I'm Dean, by the way. Did you bring it along today?"
"Michelle. And no way. I have a friend picking me up on the other side." She smiled and bit her lip in a practiced manner. "I bet we could think of a few ways to make the trip go faster." Now she was talking. If he hadn't been working, Dean might have been dismayed that they hadn't sprung for a stateroom.
"Hey, I have a question. Do you think smart is the new sexy?"
Michelle smiled again. "In my opinion, you don't define sexy, you just recognize it." Ha, take that, Sammy with your geeky little harem.
"I couldn't agree more."
When Michelle excused herself to make a quick phone call before they were too far from shore, Dean looked at Sam in the bar mirror under the guise of ordering another beer. Sam caught his eye and glanced at the women around him, then back at Dean, then at the door. To the older brother, the message was as clear as if Sam had said it out loud. I'm interviewing the passengers and staff. You go check out the dark, crowded and probably rat-infested back spaces of this damn boat. And no, maybe that's not exactly how Sam would have put it, but that's how Dean interpreted it.
He sent back a pursed-lipped, squinted-eye expression that was intended to convey, screw you, Sasquatch, I'm the big brother. Sam sent back a smile that only curled one side of his mouth, eyes twinkling in a clear you made the rules, and I win. Suck it.
Dean did the only thing he could. He curled his upper lip in a half snarl that said you win, but I'm totally kicking your ass later. With a silent apology to the lovely Michelle, Dean got up, paid the bartender, and stalked out. He could feel Sam smirking behind him, even as he turned back to his conversation.
The first area Dean searched was the staff only areas of the primary deck, which they were on. They were mostly storage, with one smoking room, and were easy to access and much cleaner than he'd imagined when he considered searching a ship. He had a feeling it would get worse, however. With a sigh, he sent a quick text to Sam about what he'd covered, assuming it wouldn't go through, but trying anyway. Grumbling, he headed down a deck.
Sam had to admit he was really enjoying himself. Despite what Dean seemed to think, Sam did appreciate the female form, and getting to spend time with four attractive women who wanted to intelligently discuss Sagan? Sam Winchester Nirvana. And the silent conversation he'd had with his big brother was just icing on the cake. It wasn't too often he got one up on Dean, so he was enjoying a little more than he should. And, honestly, it was so nice to just feel good again.
He knew he had to move on and talk to other people, though. The whole group was made up of passengers, and not regular riders, either, so they wouldn't know anything about strange occurrences or odd employees. It was with real regret that he excused himself from the women, but he couldn't help but mess with Dean a little bit in abstentia. "My brother is terribly afraid of being on the water. I need to go check on him. I'll be back if I can." That just earned him more admiration and some comments about what a kind and caring brother he was. Sam grinned as he walked out. He thought Kevin might find the results of their little test very interesting.
The passageway was completely empty – there really weren't many riders this evening – so Sam took a moment to pull up the live feed from the cameras in the car. He noted that he had a text from Dean they he was finished searching the primary deck. But then he noted what was happening in the car. Chase – the kid from the dock – was in the car, and he was placing something in the glove compartment. Tapping out a quick text as he went, Sam ran for the closest stairway. They had tucked away anything incriminating in the false bottom of the trunk, but that wasn't Sam's only worry. He would never hear the end of it if something happened to Baby on the ferry.