"The license plate is 218 NCW." Audre said. The sight of the kid being carried lightly by the unnaturally strong hooded figure was seared into her brain. Tall Brunette had winced when the person had dumped the body into the back of the truck. Husky Green wrote down the license plate on a spare sheet of paper while she thought about the video.
"Thank you, Audre. Please don't mention this to anyone, okay? We've got it covered." Tall Brunette said, with a weak smile.
"Uh… no." Audre said. "I'm going with you guys."
"We're not taking a civilian into danger." Trench Coat said, speaking up for the first time in a while. He didn't seem to like this. Husky Green thought for a second.
"The Steins are dangerous. Best not to get involved with them."
"At least tell me your names before you go off into the unknown forever."
"Uh… Dean. Dean Winchester. This is Sam, and this is Cas."
"Dean!" Sam snapped. Dean smiled.
"I know you aren't FBI agents." Audre said.
"You know a lot about hunting for a librarian." Dean said.
"Hunting?"
"Hunting monsters. Like the Steins."
"Dean, stop." Sam said, raising his voice.
"I'm 36, I'm a police academy dropout, and I can handle whatever this is." Audre said, looking up at Sam. "Honestly… I'd love to help you find your missing intern or whatever."
"She's good." Dean said. "I promise she won't get hurt."
"You can't make that promise, Dean. You know what happens." Cas snapped. Dean nodded, but then looked at Audre.
"Still want to hunt some evil S.O.B.s?"
"Turn down the music." Sam said. Dean muttered something and turned it down. Audre looked at Cas, who was sitting next to her in the back.
"Who is the missing kid? What is he to you guys?" She asked. Cas glared at her, his eyes squinted. He opened his mouth, then shut it, rethought his words, then started over.
"His name is Jack. He's family."
"Family?"
"Sam and Dean are brothers. I'm their friend. Jack's my nephew. We're family."
"So, he's a hunter too? Like a family business?"
"I don't think of him as a hunter. He's… he's still a child to me." Cas said. "He's good. He doesn't like hurting people. He hunts because he wants us to be proud of him."
"We are proud of him." Dean added, leaning forward to see something in the distance. Sam sat in the shotgun seat with his arms crossed.
"How do you kill Stynes?" Audre asked, changing topics. The stress was high when they talked about Jack. There were things they weren't telling her, but her head was working faster every second, connecting the dots. Why wouldn't Cas's sibling be looking for their son?
"They're hard to kill, but it's like… killing normal, very hard to kill humans."
"I've never killed anyone." Audre said. "I killed a deer once, by accident. I… I think I'll just let you guys kill stuff. I remember how scared it was… it's eyes."
"Too much detail." Dean said cheerily. Audre decided to make her move.
"What about his parents?" She asked.
"Who?"
"Jack. Jack's parents."
"They're dead." Cas said.
"You're lying."
"I'm not." Cas said, frowning. Audre raised her eyebrows.
"You're lying, and I can tell because Sam and Dean gave it away." Audre said. Cas looked at Sam and Dean, angry. That dude needed a coffee or a warm bath.
"His father is estranged. He doesn't know Jack is missing." Dean figuratively stepped in as he slowed down the car and took a sharp turn into a driveway. The car shook.
"That's all I wanted to know." Audre said. "Thanks."
Castiel glared at her. She smiled back. Audre was dealing surprisingly well with everything. She was starting to feel nervous though. Everyone seemed to be rethinking why they brought her along, but they rolled up to the house and focused on the task at hand.
"Okay… so… this is where the car went. Looks right." Dean said. "All we have to do is find Jack, and then he can get us back to the car."
Dean turned off the driveway and into the woods. He got out, and covered it in branches. Audre moved to get out, but it was locked.
"Hey!" She yelled. Cas slammed his door behind him, following Sam.
"Just stay here." Dean said. She watched their retreated figures, cursing under her breath. She tried the door again, but it wasn't going to open.