Warning: Character, betrayal, language, violence
A snowstorm was moving in. The dark clouds looked nasty, and if it would've been about ten degrees warmer, Cas was sure there would be a tornado instead. The drums could be heard in the distance. Coming from Calumet. They were marching again, for what no one in the group knew. All they knew was that too many of their own had died in the short time they had occupied their town, and it was time for them to go.
Soldiers set in the auditorium of Calumet high, staring at the screen ahead as their leader offered a Powerpoint presentation. The man standing on the stage was a hard faced man. He had been in the army since he was in his early twenties, and he had never left. He did good, damn good. And his great leader was not ready to let someone like him slip through his fingers.
Kweon Sang-jun stared out over his men with fire and determination in his eyes. After the last attack by the Hunters, he was ready for them to all to die already.
"Attention!" One of his underlings called out, getting silence from the auditorium.
"I know how rumors like to fly." Sang-jun said, walking across the stage. "We are losing. Our great leader is upset with us. That our efforts will be useless within a few months. But rest assured, that is not the case." He pointed at the projector just off stage with the little remote he had, starting the presentation. Black and white photos filled the screens.
"These are the known members of the Hunters." He said. "Sergeant Dean Winchester, Samuel Winchester, Colonel Benjamin Lafitte, Lisa Braden RN, Rufus Turner, Robert Singer, Joanna Harvelle, Megan Masters, Ruby Masters, Fergus Crowley, James Murphy, Castiel Novak. We have received reports that we have successfully killed one of their members. A Caleb Padalecki. One down, twelve to go."
"We know they are hiding in the mountain." Sang-jun continued, changing to the next slide. "One group of men found this out months ago when they tragically lost their lives to these vicious killers." He paused for a second and switched to the next slide. "We have killed people in connection with them. Jonathan Winchester, Jessica Moore, Rick Padalecki, along with his son Caleb. We have brave brothers right now researching these Hunters. To figure out weaknesses, strengths, connections, etc. We will flush them out one way or another."
They moved quietly. Men in all white suits to blend in with the snow. Following the trail of tanks that made their way towards the Hunters, these men set out on a mission. They were quiet and quick, but the Hunters were waiting. They had heard through their radio that a plan had been enacted to flush them out. There were spies everywhere, working for and against the allies. Dean was just glad that this information had been right.
Sam was on his stomach behind a tree stump, a gun out in front of him on a small tripod. He had so much hatred in his eyes. They had taken almost everything from him. His dad, his girlfriend, his best friend. All they hadn't taken from him was Dean and he would be damned if they did that. He knew the others were scattered out in the snow around him, watching and waiting. Hell, Jo and Meg had even taken to the tree tops, guns ready and waiting.
One of the white uniforms stepped on a trip wire that Benny had set up, setting off a bomb that blew up at least four men. Lisa smiled at his work as she fired a gun at people that ran toward their fallen comrades. Explosions and gunfire filled the air. Jo and Meg even dropped down from the treetops and slit a few throats.
"It's quiet." Ruby whispered after a little while. Meg stood in front of her, gun ready. Benny motioned for everyone to follow. Dean pulled Sam to his feet and they all walked behind Benny, looking for any sign of an ambush.
"If they're still moving, shoot them." Benny said. "We can't have them calling back to their base to tell them what happened. They'll figure it out on their own." Everyone nodded and fanned out. Sam cringed as he heard a few shots going off. He looked over as Dean placed his gun against a head and fired. He made his way over to where Meg was standing, gun pointed at a terrified man. Ruby was off to the side, staring at her sister with wide eyes.
"Meg…" Sam said, walking over towards her. Ruby looked at Sam for help. "Meg, listen to me."
"No." She growled. "He killed Caleb. He was about to kill Cas. I'm done letting him kill people."
"He didn't kill Caleb." Sam assured her. "Dean got rid of that guy. As for Cas, yeah he probably was. But he didn't kill everybody. He's a soldier just like we are."
"I'm not a soldier!" Meg snapped. Sam sighed and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes you are. We all are whether we like it or not." Sam told her. He looked down at the man. "And I think I have a better plan for him right now."
"What are we doing?" Crowley asked, pacing behind the man they had sitting in the snow. His hands and feet were zip tied together, and even if he could get out of that, everyone around him had some sort of weapon. He wasn't getting out of here easily.
"Parlez vous anglais?" Ruby asked, sitting in front of the man. "Sprichst du Englisch?"
"So what if he does?" Jimmy said, staring at Ruby trying to get the man in front of her to say anything. Ruby looked back at him.
"I have to get him to say something." She said.
"Just shoot him already!" Rufus said. "We don't know if he has a fucking tracking device on him or something!" That's when Lisa stood up from where she had been searching the jacket he had been wearing. She held up a device, gray and boxy.
"What is that?" Bobby asked.
"It looks like one of those things they use to check for radiation in movies." Jo said. Lisa handed the device off to Benny for him to examine. Being at a higher ranking than Dean, he had probably seen more gadgets that the military had to offer. He examined the device.
"What is that thing?" Meg asked. The man didn't answer, just staring straight ahead at her. She hauled off then and let her hand go flying, back handing him across the face. He fell onto the ground, Meg posed to punch him again when Cas placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The man started mumbling things in Korean. Dean knelt in front of him then, his eyes dark and full of hate and anger.
"I hear a chopper or a tank of any kind, I'm blowing your fucking brains out." He stated matter of factly. He was sure that statement meant the same in Korean what it did in English. The man spit at Dean then, red splattering on the snow when Dean backed up. The man was bleeding. Who knew how long he'd last?
"Go die Yankee." He growled at Dean in broken English.
"I'm gonna kill him." Dean looked over at Sam. "Can I shoot him?" Lisa stifled a laugh. It was like he was asking his wife permission for something.
"Not just yet." Sam said. While he really didn't want anyone else to die, having this man here was starting to piss Sam off. And it had been his idea to bring him there.
"This thing is pointing." Jo said, looking over Lisa's shoulder. "It's moving."
"Where?" Dean asked, standing up. Lisa looked down at the device, eyes wide as she looked up. Dean looked to where it was pointing to see Rufus standing there awkwardly. "Rufus…"
"Dean…I can explain…" Rufus began. Benny walked towards him. Bobby looked heartbroken. Rufus was his best friend. They had been friends for years. How could he do something like this? To all of them?
"Where is it?" Dean asked, gritting his teeth. Benny stood behind him for backup.
"Did Caleb die because of you?" Jimmy asked, ignoring Dean's request. "Did Caleb die because you sold us out?!" Tears were streaming down his face. Meg gripped her gun, ready to shoot Rufus if necessary. Dean grabbed Rufus and yanked him to his feet.
"Where is the god damn bug?!" Dean screamed. Rufus whimpered some.
"They made me swallow it." He admitted.
"Rufus, you son of a bitch!" Bobby screamed. "How could you do this?!"
"Caleb is dead because of you!" Meg cried out. Dean glared Rufus down. Those tanks would've never been there if it hadn't been for Rufus. Caleb would've never gave his life the way he did. They would've never had their own POW sitting just feet from them. It was all Rufus's fault.
"My dad turned me in." Rufus admitted. "I snuck off to see him and my mom. They had her. They told him that if he could turn in any of these suspects of espionage, he could have her back. So he saw my name on the list and I was sitting right there. They took me in, made me swallow the bug and told me to go back to you guys. So my mom and dad could be safe…"
"So your parents get to be safe while we lose ours?" Cas asked. "While Rick Padalecki and John Winchester have to die? Or Mr. Pellegrino? Or Jessica? What makes your family any more important than ours?"
"Because they're my family!" Rufus said. "Crowley, you would do the same for your mother, right? Any of you would!"
"My mother is a heartless bitch and I hate her." Crowley said. "Of course I would do the same for her. But I'm not going to! I want to survive. And from the look of it, you're about to die." Rufus was shoved to the ground by Dean.
"You stupid, stupid bastard." Dean growled.
"Dean…" Benny said. The look between the two was enough. They knew what they had to do.
Rufus stood beside the POW. His arms were still zip tied. Rufus was free standing. His friends, or at least his former friends, stood in front of him, staring him down. Even Bobby, who had been his best friend for years, was glaring at him. He was so ashamed of what he did, but if he had the chance to do it again, he would. To keep his family safe.
"Do you want blindfolds?" Dean asked calmly. The POW mumbled something in his own language. Dean looked at Rufus.
"Dean, let him go!" Jo begged. She didn't want Rufus to die this way. He had always been so nice to her.
"Shut up Jo!" Dean snapped at her, silencing her. He turned to look back at the two in front of him.
"He told them where we are." Jimmy said. "Caleb died because of him."
"Dean…" Sam said. Dean looked at his brother, seeing the pain in his eyes. "If we do this, what's the difference between us and them?"
"We're not them." Dean said. "They killed Dad! They killed Jessica!"
"And according to you, he killed Caleb." Sam said. "Did he pull the trigger? He might have led the tanks to us, but it was Caleb's choice to climb up there and fight."
"This is our home." Dean said, a tear in his eye. He looked over at Benny, who nodded and took the pistol from Dean.
"Land of the free, home of the brave." Benny said. "I got this Dean-o." He looked at Rufus and the POW. "Any final words?"
"I'm so sorry." Rufus whispered. Benny nodded and pointed the pistol at the POW first, shooting him. He fell to the ground. Rufus raised his hands. "Benny please, don't shoot me."
"I don't know you the way they know you." Benny explained. "It doesn't hurt me as bad to get rid of a traitor. I've been doing it my whole career."
"Don't shoot him Benny." Dean said. Benny looked back at Dean. Just as he did, the sound of a gun went off. But it hadn't been Benny who had shot Rufus. Rufus fell to the feet of his killer, looking up to see tears coming down his face. Bobby wiped at his eyes and walked away from his friend.
"It's done." Bobby said. Dean looked at him with wide eyes. Meg turned away from Rufus and buried her head in Cas's chest. He led her away, the others following, leaving Benny, Sam, and Dean standing there.
"Come on." Sam told his brother quietly, gently pulling on his arm. Dean nodded and followed along behind Sam.
Sam added Rufus's name to the rock. No one said anything, but he saw Bobby tear up when he saw the letters. He had killed his best friend. But that friend had caused the death of another friend, and probably would've caused more if they hadn't been tipped off on the radio. Bobby had done the right thing.
Then why did he feel so shitty?