CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: Shifter Part Two
"Why do we have to wear these stupid outfits? I feel like I'm about to try out for a play." Dean complained, running his hands over the blue technician outfit with distaste.
Jo rolled her eyes, handing him a tool box to help complete their ensembles as they made their way into the bank, Ellen trailing behind them in regular casual wear, posing as just another bank-goer. "We have to look the part. Now, get ready, it's show time." She gave him a little shove as they approached a security guard, both of them smiling politely.
"Well we haven't had any flags go up on our system yet." The guard stated as he began to lead them to the observation room after Jo's short explanation on why they were there.
The demon nodded, making sure to match his pace with the man walking rather briskly. "No, this is a glitch in the overall grid. We just want to make sure the branch monitors are kosher."
"Well, better be safe than sorry, I guess." The guard relented, unlocking the door for them.
Jo walked in, glancing between all the different monitors, captivated. "That's the plan."
The pair watched as multiple screens showed different angles of the property, covering every room including the main lobby where they spotted Ellen reading a magazine.
"You guys need anything else?" The guard asked, ready to leave them to do their work.
"Oh no, it's just a routine check, we should be in and out." Jo clarified, already sitting down in one of the rolling chairs.
The guard smiled and gripped the door handle. "Okie dokie." With that, he left them alone.
Dean smirked, plopping down in the chair beside the blonde hunter. "I like him. He says 'okie dokie'."
Jo tapped her fingers on some keys, her brows furrowed in concentration as she watched the screens. "Yeah well, he could be the shifter, Dean." She pointed out, sideways glancing at him.
"I hope you at least brought some popcorn." Dean grumbled as he leaned back in his chair with a bored expression. "I thought hunting was always exciting. You know, slaying monsters and shit. Not playing dress up."
Jo laughed at the demon's ignorance, stopping her quick typing as she turned to face Dean. "Hunting's not all perks. There's research, tracking, potential injuries, emotional trauma." The blonde trailed off, her tone as if she had experienced everything she had listed.
"What kind of emotional trauma?" The middle Winchester asked, his tone serious and sincere.
"Look." Jo pointed to one of the screens that showed the guard from before talking to one of the other employees with completely normal eyes. The pair silently decided to move on from the topic, but the demon made a mental note to go back and ask her about it later.
"Looks like mister 'okie dokie' is… okie dokie." Dean joked, receiving a slightly amused glare from the petite hunter.
Just as the demon was about to lean back, his eyes caught something. "Hold up. There." He indicated the second monitor up where the bank manager was helping out a co-worker with lit up eyes.
"Yatzee." Dean said cheerfully.
"Don't say that."
…...
"What's the game plan?" Dean asked as he and Jo rushed down the stairs to get to the lower level.
"Um, I'm working on it." Jo admitted, skidding to a sudden stop at the bottom of the stairs when her eyes caught sight of Ronald chaining up the door. She stuck her arm out, barely stopping the demon from barreling down the cement steps towards the security guard.
Dean and Jo shared a look of dismay, realizing they were screwed to Hell.
….
John made his way down the creaky basement steps warily, not sure what he would find as he slowly approached the panic room door.
With a nervous tremor in his hands, the aged hunter hesitantly opened up the small peak hole so he could mentally prepare himself.
Thankfully, his son looked normal, though he knew Sam's current mindset was far from that. The demon was sprawled out on the too-small-for-his-lanky-form cot, sweat droplets springing up from his forehead with his eyes squeezed shut as he muttered something under his breath.
With new found confidence, the eldest Winchester opened the metal door, causing the demon's eyes to fly open, dark wide orbs fastening on his father.
"Hi Sam." John said plainly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he tried to ignore the obsidian orbs fixated on him.
The youngest Winchester briefly recognized the small mannerism his brother used often, quickly losing his focus when another hallucination started to circle him.
"Well isn't this a sight. Daddy dearest is down here to pay a visit." Dean taunted, crouching down next to the distressed Sam, his voice getting dangerously low. "Careful Sammy, you can't trust a hunter. I bet he's got that knife on him."
The demon quickly discredited the apparition, knowing his real brother had taken it with him on the hunt he was working; the one Sam had been hoping to go on.
John shuffled forward a few steps, looking extremely uncomfortable as he shoved his calloused hands into the front pockets of his worn jeans. "You doin' okay?" He asked, noticing how his son had his eyes locked on a spot to the left of where he was standing.
"Hate to break it to you Sammy, but you got your looks from this one." Dean said with fake pity, gesturing towards the hunter with his thumb as he leaned against the wall.
"I'm- I'm fine." Sam managed, his voice hoarse from all the screaming he had been doing. He switched to a sitting position, thankful that Dean had removed the demon ward handcuffs before he left.
John nodded as awkwardness began settling into the small space, neither of the two sure what to say.
"So uh- are you seeing things?" The eldest Winchester blurted out, hoping his abruptness wouldn't discourage his son from responding.
Sam laughed bitterly, his tone lacking humor as he met his father's curious gaze. "You mean besides my brother threatening to cut out my insides and roast them on a spit before feeding them to me?" He smiled weakly, ignoring John's horrified expression. "Nothing."
"It's a guilty pleasure." Dean chimed in, smiling cruelly.
"That's uh-" John scratched at his beard, not knowing how to respond to that.
Tired of watching his father squirm, Sam decided to save him. "Yeah."
"Do you think you're almost clear?" The hunter questioned, his brows knitted in worry.
The youngest Winchester exhaled deeply, trying to judge where he was at in the process even though he had nothing to go by. "Well, I don't feel the need to go tap a vein of Azazel's, so that's a good sign right?"
John's lip tugged at the end slightly, as he turned, ready to exit. "Yeah, I'll check back in after about an hour."
Dean pursed his lips, stepping away from the wall and walking closer to his brother. "Wow, Pop is gonna stick around. I'm surprised he hasn't turned tail and hauled ass out of here yet."
Sam just nodded in response to his father, hoping to God he'd be clear by the time he returned.
….
Dean and Jo waited patiently, neither of them breathing in order to not alert Ronald that they were there. Excruciatingly long seconds went by at a snail's pace as they waited for the guard with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder to finish chaining up the doors, finally relaxing when he turned and went the opposite way of where they were standing.
"What are we going to do?" Dean asked, his voice urgent as the man with an automatic weapon retreated farther out of sight towards the bank lobby that was full of innocent people including Ellen.
Jo ran a nervous hand through her hair, mentally shaking herself before quickly but silently following after the shaggy-haired man.
"Jo!" Dean whispered harshly, reluctantly following after the frantic hunter.
"This is not a robbery!" They heard Ronald yell as he shot a few warning rounds into the ceiling panels. Multiple sounds of panic rang from the room, reverberating of the tall ceilings.
"Hey!" Jo called, advancing towards the armed maniac, catching sight of her mother in her peripheral vision.
Ronald's eyes landed on the technician uniforms they were wearing, his features relaying realization as he put two and two together. "You- you ain't feds!" He accused as the brunette hunter stood up slowly to join her daughter.
"Ronald listen-" Ellen started only to be cut off by the gun being pointed at her chest.
"You shut up! I don't like you!" He spat, his grip tightening on the gun.
Dean snapped one of his fingers, fighting against the urge to just fling the goddamn weapon out of his hands but then deciding otherwise when he noticed the general public who was staring at them wide-eyed. "Come here."
Ronald's brows furrowed in bewilderment, sounding exasperated as he met the demon's gaze. "What?"
"Come. Here." He ordered through clenched teeth, raising his eyebrows in necessity. Slowly, the security guard look a cautious step forward, close enough where he could hear the middle Winchester's rushed words without him having to scream. "We believe you okay? That's why we're here."
"Because of the mandroid?" Ronald asked, excitement leaking into his tone.
Begrudgingly, the demon forced a smile, being sure to keep his voice low as he continued. "Yeah, we're here to help but you gotta cool it with the gun."
Still not ready to trust them, Ronald backed up, hanging on to his gun. "Alright, everybody, in the vault!"
….
"Not you two!" Ronald barked when Jo and Dean had started to follow after Ellen into the steel vault. The brunette hunter watched, feeling as if her chest was about to explode, while the demon was forced to close the vault door with a sense of finality, locking everyone inside.
"Alright come on, if we're gonna beat this thing we need to get supplies." Without much more instruction, the blonde took off with the boys trailing behind her.
Thankfully, it didn't take them long to come across some silver letter openers and figure out that the shifter was in the vault with all the civilians.
"For fuck's sake, it was just the bank manager like two seconds ago." Dean could've sworn, backing up from the computer screen as Jo stood up, shaking her head in confusion.
"I've never seen a shifter change that fast. We gotta get back down there." Jo turned to leave only to be blocked by Ronald.
The plump man pointed his gun at her chest, the weapons barrel wavering from his target because of Ronald's shaking hands. "Who the hell are you guys?" He questioned, looking at the pair like they were crazy. "What is silver going to do to a mandroid?"
Dean quickly put himself between Jo and the automatic weapon, putting his hands up in a peaceful gesture. He had begun to hate doing cases that involved other humans, he felt so restricted and useless without being able to use his powers. "Ronald, I need you to listen to me and not freak out." He began, making sure he maintained steady eye contact with the security guard. "It's not a mandroid." Ronald started to protest only to have Dean shut him up with just one solid glare. "It's a shape shifter." The middle Winchester finished, sounding matter of fact. His vague explanation earned him a slap to the back of the head from the fierce blonde next to him.
The guard looked like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide as he tried to digest the information. Without even any indication that he had heard the pushy demon, Ronald turned and started making his way towards the vault.
The pair shared a collective shrug, taking it as a good sign as they followed behind hurriedly.
…
They had only been halfway to the lobby when the power went out. Dean's brows creased in confusion as he glanced at Jo. "Got a way to explain that?"
Jo cursed under her breath, shaking her head. "It's the cops way of saying hello." Suddenly, she spun to face Ronald, fuming. "Did you bother to secure the security guard?" She spat, a little harsher than she had meant.
After practically having to drag the blonde away to prevent her from clawing the poor guy's eyes out, they finally arrived at the vault right as a phone starting ringing. Not knowing any better, Dean picked it up.
"Yeah?" He answered, sounding bored and unfazed.
"This is Detective Robard. Who is this?" The officer on the other end asked, his tone casual.
The middle Winchester chuckled at the crap police work. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna plead the fifth on that one. Any other stupid questions?"
The cop started to say something about demands and Dean was losing his patience, so he cut him off. "So listen, we don't have demands, hell we don't even want the money that's here. We just gotta figure something out real quick and then you guys are free to do whatever the hell cops do. Give us an hour." With that, he hung up and was greeted with Jo wiping an aggravated hand down her face. "What?"
She rolled her eyes, not even noticing how Ronald was already opening up the vault. "Let's just get the shifter and finish this up."
"Uh, guys." The security guard started, his voice hesitant. "We may need to change some plans."
….
After about an hour and four minutes, John finally gathered the resolve to go back downstairs in hopes of letting his son out.
Thankfully, this time when he approached the door he didn't hear the faint sound of Sam talking to himself. Deciding that was probably a good thing, the old hunter opened the door.
The youngest Winchester stood up quickly, a broad smile on his face as he greeted his father, obviously ready to be released from the iron prison.
"Don't be too excited." John teased, scratching off the paint of the devil's trap on the floor and looking up at the dark sky, the trap in the grating not working from the lack of sunlight.
As the pair moved out from the panic room, Bobby opened the door at the top of the stairs with stressed features. "You two might want to come look what's on the TV."
….
"You just had to have a fucking panic attack, didn't you?" Dean grumbled as he began leading the man who was claiming he was about to die through the lobby towards the front door. With Ronald's AK-47 slung over his shoulder, he undid the chains around the door and opened it. "Alright, you're gonna get the help you need as long as you're not stupid. Ready?" The man nodded, looking doubtful as the demon shoved the gun into his back and urged him forward.
Almost immediately they were bombarded with flashing police lights and ambulance sirens blaring. "Hold you're fire!" They heard an officer yell as they walked outside, Dean quickly letting go of the man but not before he made direct eye contact with one of the many reporter's video cameras. "Son of a bitch." He muttered, retreating inside and re-securing the door. "We are so screwed."
….
A knock on the police van door had all heads turning as a tall African American man barged in, oozing authority as he made eye contact with Officer Robard.
"Who are you?" The officer who had already talked to Dean on the phone asked, standing up.
"Special Agent Henriksen." He answered plainly, his voice gruff.
Robard looked displeased as he eyed the detective up and down. "Let me guess, you're lead dog now, but you would just love my full cooperation." He said sarcastically, trying to seem unbothered by the way Henriksen took a threatening step towards him.
"I don't give a rat's ass what you do, you can go get a donut and bang your wife for all I care. What I do need is your S.W.A.T. team locked and loaded." He ordered, not leaving room to argue.
Robard shook his head, laughing humorlessly. "Listen, agent. Something's not right about this. It's not going down like a usual heist."
Henriksen looked amused, raising his brows. "That's because it isn't one. You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? There is a monster in that bank."
….
After finally making his way back to the vault, Dean stopped dead in his tracks at Jo's pissed off look, her arms crossed and her foot tapping as the phone began to ring once again.
"It's for you." She said, irritation in her voice. All she wanted was to kill the damn shifter, was that too much to ask? "You take care of the cops. I'm gonna go try to find the shifter that Ronald accidentally let lose." Without explaining how the guard had let it go, Jo took off, twirling the silver blade in her hand.
Reluctantly and with a glare towards the blonde's receding back, he picked up. "What part about give us an hour do you asshats not-"
"This is Special Agent Victor Henriksen." He cut in, not able to see the way Dean looked at the phone with shock.
The demon exhaled slowly, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Yeah, listen I'm not really in the negotiating mood right now so-"
Once again he was cut off. "Good. Me neither. It's my job to bring you in. Alive's a bonus but not necessary. "
Dean chuckled, not used to this kind of Fed. "Woah, a little harsh for a Federal Agent. Aren't you guys supposed to be calm, cool, and collected?" He quipped.
"Well you're not the typical suspect, are you, Dean?" The middle Winchester felt a cold chill go down his spine as Henriksen continued, not allowing him to speak. "I want you and that brother of yours out here, unarmed. Or we come in. And yes, I know about little Sammy too."
"You didn't really do your research, see, Sammy's not with me. Hate to disappoint." Dean retorted, trying to maintain his hard demeanor.
"I guess I'll have to try and be satisfied with just you. You seem to be the mastermind of all this anyways." He paused, making sure he wasn't overheard, his voice dropping in volume. "Maybe it's the fact that you seem to have the real useful powers." The demon stopped, full blown panic erupting in his gut. There's no way this Fed knows, cops are supposed to be clueless. "That's right, I know about that too as well as my whole team here with me. They'll be coming in with holy water and the works. You've got one hour before we come in."
Dean slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, hearing the faint click of Henriksen hanging up. Who the hell was this guy?
….
By the time Dean finally caught up to Jo she was crouched behind a counter, staring wide-eyed at Ronald's lifeless corpse.
"He just ran out." She breathed, her tone sorrowful as the demon gently helped her up, grabbing her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.
"Come on, we've got work to do." He encouraged, smiling weakly as she gave him a small nod.
They made their way down the hallway, being sure to stay away from all windows, when they heard glass breaking at the end of the hallway. Acting fast, they ducked behind the wall, Jo peaking out just in time to see two men dressed in S.W.A.T. uniforms start to climb in.
"Shit. We've got company." She complained, pushing Dean the opposite way.
So much for that hour, He thought, turning to face the blonde. "We need to split up, Ellen and the others are still in the vault. You go get them, I'm gonna track down the bastard."
With that, they parted ways.
…
"Argh!" Dean let out a groan as the shifter slammed him against the wall, currently wearing the pretty desk clerks skin.
The monster pressed forcefully on the demon's throat, wishing it had some way of killing the major pain in its ass for the past three hours.
The middle Winchester, completely done with messing around, flicked his wrist and sent the shifter flying into the wall. As it fell to the floor, Dean took note of the decent sized crack now along where the shifter's body had made impact.
As the monster tried to get up, Dean acted fast as he brought out the silver letter opener he was dying to use and jabbed it deep into the shifters heart.
Slowly, the thing fell to its knees, finally falling to the floor in a heap just as someone kicked the door open.
…
Jo ran frantically back to the vault, sending a silent prayer that her mother was still in it alive.
After prying the door open, someone grabbed a hold of her arm and shut the door again, gripping her shoulders roughly as she was spun to face whoever had grabbed her.
"Thank God." Ellen said thankfully, pulling her daughter in for a hug before dragging Jo along behind her. "Where is it?"
The blonde shook her head as she followed, yanking her wrist from her mother's iron grip. "Not sure. Dean went after it."
Although she didn't seem all too happy that Jo had let Dean go after it by himself, Ellen decided to keep walking, hoping they'd find him before something happened.
They made their way swiftly through the hallways, making sure to dodge as many men in uniform as they could.
"Dead end." Jo said hopelessly, turning around to see two S.W.A.T. members making their way down the corridor.
"Follow my lead." The brunette hunter ordered, pushing her daughter behind her.
….
"I gotta hand it to you ladies. You did good." Dean praised as they finally settled into the worn leather of the Impala, stripping off the hot masks of the S.W.A.T. team uniforms they had 'borrowed'.
"A helluva lot better than you." Jo quipped, smirking from her spot in the passenger seat as Dean pulled out of the parking garage, Renegade playing softly from the radio.
"Hey, I killed the damn thing." The demon defended, shooting a glare towards Ellen who was smiling in the backseat.
"That may be true," She started, her tone becoming serious. "But now the police have your mug. Welcome to the life of a hunter, Dean. The life where you can't use your real name without tipping off something in the cop's database."
….
"You were on the news!" Sam said with great urgency the second his brother had walked into Bobby's house.
John stood up from his spot on the couch, walking over to greet them. "Sam, give them a second to get in the damn door." He said lightly.
Dean shook his head, wishing that was the worst thing that had happened from the hunt. "Yeah, well that's the least of our worries."
All eyes landed on him, waiting for him to elaborate.
With a deep exhale, the middle Winchester explained all that had gone down with Henriksen, the mood in the room dropping considerably.
"It doesn't matter." Bobby chimed in, adjusting his cap. "The day I let some cops scare me is the day I might as well roll over and die."
….
After all the excitement inside had finally calmed down, Dean decided now was a great time for him to work on his baby. On the way back from the hunt he had heard a small rattling and was concerned about it.
He was leaned over the engine, grease covering his hands and face as he worked on his beloved car.
"Want some help?"
The eldest demon jumped, hitting his head on the propped open hood. Rubbing at the bump he could feel starting to form angrily, his dark gaze landed on his least favorite brunette.
"Meg." He said, not sounding the least bit excited as he pulled a rag from his back pocket.
"I'm just here to talk." She clarified, putting up her hands in a surrendering gesture as Dean wiped his hands off.
"Okay. Talk." He said flatly, already tired of the conversation.
"How would you feel about coming downstairs early?" She asked, a sly grin tugging at her lips.
He scoffed, shutting the hood of his car. "Hasn't even crossed my mind."
"Too bad. Guess I'll have to be a little more convincing."
The demon barely had time to react before Meg flung him into a nearby car, his head hitting the window with a painful thud.
….
TBC
Sorry the chapter was so long, I just didn't want to break it up into three parts. Thanks for reading!