"Sorry." The sheriff shook her head. "There's been nothing out of the ordinary in this county for months." She sighed and regarded the photocopied image that lay on her desk. "You boys really think this fellow is around here?"

Dean shrugged, "This is where the trail ends." He then laughed softly, "'Course that could just mean that we've lost our touch." He glanced at his brother and watched him agreeing uneasily. Turning back to the sheriff, he frowned slightly. "You're sure? I mean, no felonies or reports of odd visitors?"

"Nothing." The sheriff insisted. "I mean, apart from this crazy weather, things have been quiet here for a while now. Fact is, I think parking violations and the odd speeder is all we've written up lately."

"And that's normal?" Sam urged.

The sheriff gave a small chuckle, "Look around you. Saratoga County is just about as simple a place as you'll find. And Wilton especially: good folk, small community. Everyone knows everyone and they look after each other. Hell, I think your guy would find us boring."

Sam quickly hid his smirk by adjusting his tie and then turned to Dean. "Well. I guess we move on."

Dean nodded and stood slowly, leaning over the desk to offer the sheriff his outstretched hand. "Thank you for your time."

"Sure." The sheriff walked them from her office but paused outside the door. "Hey. Shouldn't there have been something in the news about this guy as soon as he escaped?"

Dean met Sam's anxious glance and quickly improvised. "Not yet. We don't want him to know we're onto him."

"Surely he'd know that as soon as he climbed over the wall?"

"It wasn't quite as dramatic as that." Sam stepped in quickly, "Y'see … he sort of got free of his guards during a transfer. It's actually quite embarrassing."

"Oh." The sheriff looked between the two of them and frowned slightly.

"Them that must be obeyed hoped he'd be found sooner than this." Dean continued, "It's what us Feds like to call a major screw-up."

"I'll say!" Amused and apparently satisfied with their explanations, the sheriff headed along the corridor. "Well, we'll be sure to inform you if anything crops up."

"Thank you kindly." Sam acknowledged with a slight bow and followed his brother hastily from the building.

"You think she bought that?" Dean whispered, walking quickly but calmly towards the waiting car.

"I hope she did." Sam replied, "It took a lot of research."

"Ha!" Dean opened the car and patted the roof in delight. "You photo-shopped some poor bastard into America's Most Wanted."

Sam grinned.

"So." Dean climbed into the driver's seat and undid his tie, pulling the collar of his shirt away from his neck. "What shall we try now?"

Sam slid into the car and sighed loudly. "Watch and wait?"

"I can cope with that." Dean agreed merrily, starting the engine. As the motor turned over, the air shook with a sudden deep rumble of thunder and the previously fine morning darkened ominously.

Sam peered out of the window and watched the clouds gathering. "Not that it will perhaps be a long wait …" He mumbled.

Dean flinched as the first of the hail began to strike the bodywork and he grumbled under his breath as he eased the car onto the main road. "I sure hope we're doing the right thing."

Sam made no reply.

"I mean … if he is coming here …" Dean continued, frowning in concern as the hailstorm became more violent, "What the hell are we supposed to do about it?" He caught sight of his brother's shrugged response. "Dude, you read Bobby's entire demon almanac. Tell me something was useful."

Sam sighed and looked back out at the building storm. "Yeah …"

"What? No crazy chants or pretty drawings."

"Maybe."

"Great." Dean laughed sarcastically, "I'm sure we'll be totally fine."

Sam closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly.

"Hey? You okay? Getting a message?"

"Yeah!" Sam laughed suddenly, "That I need more sleep." He hunched down into the leather seat and let his head flop against it. "Let's go back to the hotel."

"I'm with you there, little brother."

"Man!" Sam sat up slowly, stretching his arms out beside him and yawning wearily. "Did we really fall asleep?"

"You did." Dean pointed out, frowning as he searched through files on their laptop.

"God …" Sam gave another long loud yawn, "I guess non-stop hunting is finally catching up with me …" Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Sam groggily got to his feet and straightened his clothes. "Found anything?"

"Yeah … maybe …"

Sam wiped his face with his hands and wandered closer to the small desk in the corner of the plush room. "Salvation, Iowa?"

Dean nodded, "Ash's program has predicted exactly what we're in the middle of - " He was interrupted by a sudden appropriate flash of lightening and glanced up at his brother as they both listened to the distant thunder. With a shudder, he then turned back to the computer. "But I wanted to take a look back."

"And?" Sam leaned in closer, seeing the newspaper articles Dean was skimming through.

"And it was just the same." Dean sighed, "Small quiet town, nothing unusual." He rubbed his eyes and sat back from the desk with a sigh. "And then boom."

"The demon?"

"Or us."

Sam frowned in confusion.

"Dude." Dean turned round to face his brother, "I just can't seem to get past the fact that this looks so much like a trap."

"Oh, not that again ..." Sam's shoulders fell and he sat down heavily on the foot of the bed beside them.

"Just think about it for a second." Dean urged, "We could be bringing all this onto this town."

Sam was quiet for a moment.

"How many people might be put in harm's way because this bastard wants another pop at us?"

"So what are you suggesting?"

Dean shrugged, "If I'm right then all this will follow us." He flinched as another bright burst of light filled the room. "If I'm wrong, we'll come back."

Sam held his brother's earnest gaze and then dropped his head, groaning softly. "Fine." He nodded and looked back up. "Anything to stop your whining."

Dean smiled thinly, "Dude … we're in the area, we can keep an eye on things. And we'll have time to get our game plan sorted."

"Okay."

"I mean - "

"I said okay!" Sam smiled, "I guess we did run into this without thinking it through."

"Who? Us?" Dean teased. "Nah." Spinning back round, he closed the laptop and rested back against the chair. "We'll check out in the morning then. In the meantime … I need a beer." Standing slowly, he looked down at Sam and shrugged slightly.

"Sure." Sam stood and followed him from the room. "Shame to leave such a nice hotel, though."

"Mmm." Dean agreed and pulled the door closed.

The forked-lightning lit up the clouds north of the town and deep rumbles of thunder soon followed. A first few spots of rain spattered on the wet pavement and the two brothers hurried along under the eaves of the hotel, sheltering from the imminent downpour.

"Wait!" Sam stopped abruptly, giving a small groan of protest as Dean slammed into his back. He turned to his brother, his face full of worry. "Did you hear that?"

Dean frowned and listened to the approaching rain. A further clap of thunder pounded the air and then there was another sound. With a gasp, he spun and peered out into the amber-lit street.

"Hel - !" Came a more definite cry.

"Shit!" Sam broke free of their shelter and sprinted across the road. Aware of his brother close behind him, he ran round to the rear of the small convenience store and found a narrow yard littered with upturned garbage bins. In the corner of the yard, two women fought against each other and struggled to gain an advantage.

"Wha - " Dean reached his brother's side and then saw the fight, groaning in dismay. "Great."

Sam turned to his brother and smiled thinly, "My money's on the brunette."

Dean shot him a warning glance.

Sam looked back at the battle and gasped as the blonde woman seemed to suddenly gain an upper hand, snarling to reveal the sharp second set of teeth. Stepping forward, he was then pulled back and spun at his brother in protest.

"I think we learned our lesson last time." Dean offered.

And the fight then turned. As if filled with a burst of powerful anger, the dark-haired fighter broke free of the struggle and drew her knife. Fast and agile, she leapt back at her adversary and then cried out in pain as her advance was deflected and her weapon tumbled from her grip.

Sam shrugged free and hurried across the yard, ignoring his brother's shouts of warning. Collecting the knife from the ground, he moved closer to the renewed fight and held the weapon out before him. A strobe of lightning then lit up the area and his attention was caught by the gleaming blade. Gazing at the knife, he then saw the intricate carvings in the wooden handle and the symbols engraved into the steel.

"Hey!"

Flicking his head back up, Sam saw that the brunette had pinned her opponent in a strong choke hold. "Sorry." He shrugged sheepishly and held the knife out closer to her.

She grabbed the weapon and with one powerful stroke slit a wide gash across her opponent's neck. With a gurgled gasp the blonde sank to her knees on the wet concrete, blood pulsing through her fingers as she clutched at her split throat. With a sigh of relief, the victor grabbed a handful of blonde hair and forced the other woman's head forward to sink the knife into the nape of her neck.

"Shit!" Sam hissed, looking away in revulsion.

Wiping her blade clean, the triumphant woman looked up at Sam and suddenly smiled in recognition. "Well, hello." She then turned towards Dean and watched him as he neared. "If it isn't my knights in shining armor come to rescue me."

"Why? You in distress?" Dean asked in amusement.

Standing and sliding her knife back into the sheath at the base of her back, the woman nodded at the body by her feet. "What do you think?"

Dean's smile grew, "Now, that's a loaded question."

"Let me know when you find an answer." She retorted, again dousing the remains with what looked like strong tea.

"Kinda hard when we don't even know your name." Dean pointed out.

She shrugged and straightened her clothes, stepping over the burning vampire and moving past the two men.

"What?" Sam turned to his brother in mock offense. "No 'thank you'?"

"For what?" She spun back, smiling slightly, "I had it under control."

"Sure. That's why my brother Sam here had to step in to save your butt." Dean sniggered.

She held his gaze in slight exasperation and then turned to Sam with a friendly smile. "Thanks, Sam." Avoiding eye contact with Dean, she then waved and began to leave the yard.

"And I'm Dean, by the way." Dean added quickly, frowning in annoyance as she ignored him and continued away from them. "Hey!" He hurried after her and grabbed her arm.

"Ow!" Cringing away from his grip and her knees buckling, she clutched at her shoulder.

"Wo." Dean quickly let go and then saw the dark patch on her suede jacket. "You okay?"

"Fine." She husked, wincing as she stood up straight.

Dean took a moment to use the pale glow of the security lights to look at her flushed face. Behind the heavy black fringe, her smooth coffee colored skin surrounded dark, troubled eyes and he found himself caught as she stared evenly back at him.

"You're a hunter." Sam offered warily.

Unaware that his brother had moved beside him, Dean was startled from his thoughts and turned to see Sam regarding the woman in interest.

"I guess." She nodded.

"You mean 'slayer'." Dean smirked.

"Good one." She groaned in irritation and shot him a warning glare before then turning back to Sam. "He always this funny?"

"Ignore him," Sam waved in dismissal, seeing the look his brother stabbed at him and smiling in amusement. Stepping closer to the woman, he indicated the arm she was favoring protectively. "Can we take you to a hospital?"

"No." She replied quickly, "No, thank you." She corrected with a shrug.

Sam nodded slightly.

"Mina."

Dean watched her in interest as she smiled thinly up at Sam.

"Nice to meet you, Mina." Sam offered warmly.

The sparse drops then suddenly burst into the heavy fall that had been looming for some time and they all cringed as cold rain began to cover them.

"Listen, can we continue this little meet and greet somewhere dry?" Dean shuddered.

Sam nodded, smiling at Mina hopefully.

"Sorry." Mina shook her head and moved away from them, pulling her jacket closer around her body. "I have to go." She turned and broke into a jog.

"Wait!" Sam shouted and began to pursue her.

Dean watched his brother in curiosity, walking quickly after him and seeing Sam's confusion as he reached the end of the alley and looked around in surprise.

"Where'd she go?" Sam asked breathlessly.

Dean glanced around them in wonder and gave a small shrug, shivering as the rain began to seep into his coat.

"She's fast!" Sam acknowledged.

"And seriously hot." Dean added, his mouth breaking into a wide grin and he gave a short whistle.

Sam sighed in despair and then stepped out to cross the street and sprint towards the bar they had originally been heading for.

The sleek black sedan did not go unnoticed as it pulled up outside the Sheriff's office and the two dark-suited men that stepped out of the car seemed to stand out against the quiet country town.

Frowning in interest, the young deputy watched the two men as they approached and he stood from his chair, smiling as he met them at the reception desk. "Can I help you, fellas?"

"I hope so." The elder of the two nodded, reaching into his jacket. "Special Agent Cole, FBI." He offered his ID and glanced at his colleague, "And this Special Agent Murphy."

The deputy nodded in greeting, "What are you folks up to this late in the evening?"

"Trailing a wanted felon." Cole replied.

"Ah, yes. You're 'escapee', huh?" The deputy indicated the poster on the notice board beside him.

Cole seemed to pause for a moment and then a smile danced on his mouth. "Actually, we now have reason to believe that he has an accomplice." He again reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. "Have you seen this woman?"

The deputy peered at the image and nodded slowly, "She looks sorta familiar, yeah …" His frown deepened. "Where did I …? Oh, I know! She was in Applebees, last night. I think we all noticed her at some point - she's quite a looker." He chuckled softly, "But you say she's with this escaped convict?"

"We have reason to believe so, yes."

The deputy nodded in thought, "She's not from this area. I mean, everyone knows everyone here and we'd have noticed if she'd moved into town." He gave a small laugh again and then saw that the two agents were apparently not amused.

"Listen, Deputy - " Cole leaned closer to read the badge pinned on the young man's uniform. "Jameson. We need the names of every lodging in the area." He demanded evenly, "And perhaps you should call in the Sheriff. We need to find this woman."

"Yes, sir!" Jameson agreed with excitement.

Cole turned to his partner and at last a small smile broke on his stern face. He watched his colleague nod in agreement and they both then headed further into the station.

Making a beeline for the bar, Sam removed his coat and gave it a shake. He smiled in greeting as the bartender wandered towards them. "Whiskey." He requested, his shoulders shivering as he perched on one of the barstools and ran a hand through his damp hair.

"Same." Dean nodded, joining his brother and then regarding him in amusement. "Gotta hand it to you, Sammy. You are one smooth dude."

Sam waited warily for his brother to continue.

"What?" Dean shrugged, "You got her name. I just got attitude." He smiled at the memory, adding: "Not that I'm really complaining."

Sam laughed gently, "Oh. That's how you like it, huh?"

Dean choked on his drink and stared at his brother in amused surprise. "Dude!" He grinned, "You finally learning something from me?" He watched Sam shrug coyly, "So … you really didn't notice that she is seriously fine?"

"Of course I did." Sam defended, "But I also took in other details."

"Oh really?" Dean's grin grew.

Sam rolled his eyes and gulped down his whiskey in one mouthful, grimacing slightly and then sighing in satisfaction as warmth flooded through him.

"Well?" Dean urged, "Details?"

"Sure." Sam shrugged, "Like her jacket."

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Jess - " Sam paused for a moment, swallowing back a sudden lump in his throat. "Jess had one just like it."

"Oh." Dean frowned, "So?"

"So, it's not a cheap design." Sam explained.

"Ooh." Dean laughed slightly, "A slayer with fashion sense. That's a new one."

Sam groaned, "No, I mean it was once a smart jacket and now … did you see the dirt and the tears." He saw the lack of understanding in his brother's smile and shook his head slowly. "And the faded bruises on her hands and face." He continued quietly, "Almost as though she up and left a different life. And she's been through something rough."

"My kinda woman."

"Dude!" Sam laughed despite his irritation and regarded his brother in wonder. "Can you be serious for just one second?"

"Probably not, no." Dean replied merrily, catching the bartender's attention and ordering them each a beer.

"And that knife." Sam continued. "I've never seen decoration like that. And it seemed really old."

Dean chuckled softly, "And you think I'm the one to worry about. Dude, you only clocked the clothes and the accessories."

Sam smiled and reached into his jeans pocket to pull out his phone. "I'm gonna call Ellen. See if she knows anything about Mina."

"Assuming that is her real name." Dean added, watching as Sam held the phone to his ear and waited for an answer. Listening in interest to Sam's side of the conversation, he took a long drink of beer and then fiddled idly with the label on the bottle.

"Great …" Sam sighed and closed his eyes, hanging his head as he listened to his phone. "Yeah … I understand. Thanks, Ellen." He lifted his head back up and shot Dean a worried frown. "I know. We will. Bye."

Dean watched his brother end the call and leaned closer to him. "What?"

Sam took a deep breath, "She's not heard of Mina or anyone fitting her description." He began, "And she said the knife doesn't ring any bells."

Dean regarded his brother in concern and saw the trouble behind his tired eyes. "And?"

"And she's worried that we're here."

"Oh?"

Sam nodded, "Apparently word of this place's lack of clerics is winding its way along the grapevine."

"Hmm." Dean sighed, "Open season in the Hudson Valley, huh?"

"Big time." Sam agreed, "We should check online for any clues about that knife." He turned over one of the cardboard coasters on the bar and reached into his jacket for a pen.

"You're such a boy-scout." Dean observed in mock disgust, swallowing down his beer. He then watched in interest as Sam began to draw out a collection of strange symbols. "Dude." He muttered, "Your doodles would make a shrink's day."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "It's what was on the knife, Dean."

"I know that. I was just joking."

Sam laughed softly, "See. Maybe if you'd turned off the charm, Mina would have been pleasant to you." He glanced up at his brother's amusement and then put his pen away, satisfied with what he had recollected. Drinking down the last of his beer and shuddering at its icy cold, he stood and urged his brother to follow.

"So. Where do we start?" Dean closed the hotel room door and shrugged off his wet coat, watching his brother head across to the laptop.

"I guess I need to cross-reference these symbols with anything off of our files." Sam started up the computer and settled before it. "Not that I managed to retrieve everything that we lost when the old hard drive was - " He paused suddenly, fleeting memories of the truck smashing into the Impala sending a chill through his body. "Anyway," He shook his head to clear his thoughts, "I'm hoping we'll be lucky and I'll not have to search the entire web."

"Shit, yeah." Dean agreed quietly, opening the thick leather journal he had collected from his bag and sitting on the foot of the bed behind Sam. "Let's see …" He peered over Sam's shoulder and frowned as he studied the drawings on the coaster.

Sam laughed suddenly and glanced at his brother, "So much for not being distracted by her."

Dean smiled, flicking through his father's records and notes.

"Right …" Sam leaned closer to the laptop and scanned through the files.

The two of them studied in silence for a few minutes, referring back to the sketches and sighing wearily.

"Dude," Dean grumbled quietly, "This is going to take - " Turning another page, he raised his eyebrows in interest. "Or not."

Sam turned and peered down at the drawings their father had sketched in his journal. "They're similar." He acknowledged.

Dean nodded and read through the handwritten notes. "Ah."

"What?" Sam turned further round on the chair to try and read the information for himself.

"This references dog soldiers and skin-walkers." Dean summarized, "Um … Native American folklore ... rituals and stuff."

"Really?" Sam enthused, spinning back to his laptop and opening an internet connection. "That narrows things down some."

"And begs a shit-load of questions." Dean added, "Including the old favorite 'who or what the fuck is she'?"

Sam nodded in agreement and frowned as he scanned through various sites. "Here!" He reported excitedly.

Dean stood and looked at the images on the screen. "Those sure look like our guys."

"Mmm." Sam concurred distractedly, "But what the hell are centuries-old cave drawings doing on Mina's knife?"

"If it's even hers." Dean frowned, heading across the room to grab his phone. "Maybe Bobby's heard of it." He entered the speed dial code and put the phone to his ear. "Hey, man. Yeah, we're fine. Listen, we've sort of run into something of a character out here."

Sam smiled, reading through the information on the website where he had found the images and making notes on a small pad. He listened to Dean describing Mina matter-of-factly to Bobby and hid his amusement. Catching his brother's attention, he held the pad out to him.

"Okay, Sammy's found more." He read the notes and shrugged slightly, "He says the carvings are Cree Indian symbols. Possibly." Dean laughed slightly, "I mean, this is going by his memory." He saw the glare Sam shot him and then listened to Bobby's reply.

Sam watched impatiently as Dean frowned and then sighed loudly.

"Great." Dean ran a hand through his hair and concluded the conversation, thanking Bobby and apologizing for disturbing him so late. "Yeah. You too, man. Later."

Dean closed the phone and turned to Sam. "Now it gets interesting." He began, "Seems some old Indian hunter was murdered a few months back. Bobby said it was a grizzly blatant message sort of killing. And …" He sat down at the table beside Sam and took a deep breath. "This guy was rumored to own some kind of ceremonial knife that had mystical powers."

Sam stared at his brother in wonder. "What? Mystical as in of the vampire-slaying type."

"Maybe." Dean shrugged. "Or maybe the 'can-kill-every-evil-fucker' type …?"

Sam looked back at the drawings and shook his head in wonder. He then closed his eyes and lifted his hands to his head, rubbing at his temples.

"You okay, man?" Dean urged, seeing how pale his brother had suddenly become.

"Yeah …" Sam groaned and closed his eyes tighter. "I just …" He sighed and lifted his head back up, smiling thinly. "I've had this headache all day."

"Just a headache?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. I'm just real tired." Sam took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Listen, we need to track Mina down."

"Big time." Dean concurred. "Especially if her knife can help us kill that murdering son-of-a-bitch."

Sam nodded, "And to warn her." He saw Dean's confusion and shrugged slightly, "Who else might know about such a weapon."

"Good point." Dean offered, "Unless - "

"She was the one who stole it." Sam concluded, "Yeah … there is that."

"Hmm." Dean stood and headed over to his bag, selecting a 9 mm and checking the case was full. He tucked the gun into the waist of his jeans and then turned back to his brother. "And maybe I should take some salt just to be sure."

Sam nodded and then winced in pain.

"Dude!" Dean hurried over and watched in concern as Sam rubbed at the back of his neck and moaned wearily. "Or maybe we should just stay put, Sammy."

"No." Sam rolled his neck from side to side and frowned slightly. "You go." He looked up at his brother and his frown deepened. "But be careful."

"You know it." Dean smiled. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door. Grasping the handle, he then hesitated and turned back. "You sure?"

"I'm fine. Go!" Sam chuckled softly and moved to his bed, laying down on his back and closing his eyes. "I'll call if otherwise."

"Okay." Dean watched his brother in concern for a moment and then opened the door.