Dean hurried back to Joe's hotel room. As he entered, he found Sam on his laptop, scanning local articles. "Find anything Sam?" Dean asked

Sam frowned in frustration, "A lot actually but nothing useful, I've found newspaper articles spanning back for the last ten years. Apparently, Eaton enters a local boat regatta every August. He's won it for the last ten years straight. In six out of ten articles, Eaton features a different girl in the paper, as the Owl's night manager. Each girl, I mean Dean talk about creepy, each girl looks similar. It's got to be why people haven't picked up on it. I mean this is a tourist heavy town. People come and go each year, and all they probably remember is the pretty young girl that works for Eaton." Sam shut the laptop with an audible click.

Dean's face became even fiercer. "This ends now, no more girls are going to loose their lives to this bastard. Now, Jill couldn't tell me much. Eaton hits the girls, loads them into his car trunk, and drives for a while. Then he tosses them into a hole in the ground, too deep for the girls to climb out. Jill did say that she remembers seeing a constant stream of billowing clouds. But that's it. I get the feeling that the hole is their grave, so we need an unoccupied area where this bastard can dig a hole and leave a girl unattended for a few days."

Dean turned towards Joe "Any ideas, Joe you're as close as we're going to get to a local?" Dean began pacing back and forth in the confined space.

Joe sat slumped on the bed. Mind racing, suddenly he had a thought "I've run deliveries over at Great Egg Harbor Bay, there's a plant over there that produces a constant steam cloud. Plus its near a golf course, pretty open area."

Sam sat up suddenly "did you say golf course, Eaton owns a golf course in Egg Harbor." Sam and Dean were up and moving at once. Sam turned and addressed Joe, "can we follow you? That would be quickest."

Joe moved and grabbed the keys to his rig. As the boys moved to climb into the Impala, Dean glanced back at the hotel. He could barely make out a figure standing in the dark.

888

The boys followed Joe's rig to the golf course that Sam had mentioned. As they got closer Dean pulled the car over hiding it in some overgrown brush. Sam and Dean began on foot, heading across the course, moving towards the bay hoping that Eaton would be more likely to stow the girls there. As they moved Dean noticed Joe, move up to meet them.

The young hunter looked at the wizened trucker. "You don't have to do this Joe, we can handle it."

Joe shook his head, panting with exertion, "I owe her this, I should have made someone listen. I knew things were wrong and I let it go. To afraid to call suspicion down on myself. No, I need to be here."

Dean nodded and kept moving ever closer to the bay. As he searched the ground before him, he despaired at finding Julie alive. Suddenly he saw a small light yards away, heading away from them. Dean quickly moved his hand alerting Sam to the fact that they had company.

Joe was shocked one moment he was moving alongside the two young men and the next they had disappeared all together. He wasn't sure just what it was that these boys did but it was obvious they were well trained. Joe hung back slightly knowing that his heavy breathing and stumbling feet may give away the boy's advantage.

Sam saw the light get closer and closer as he and Dean moved quickly to overtake whoever it was. As they came within a few feet, Sam quickly nodded his head to Dean indicating that it was Eaton. Sam could see him moving carrying a large shovel and a bag full of items.

Dean saw Sam's nod in the light of the moon, he quickened his pace, he was unwilling to alert the man to his presence before he led them to the Julie's location. At last Dean saw something ahead. It looked like caution tape, as Dean watched Eaton ducked under the tape and moved towards a mound of dirt. This was it Dean didn't need to see poor Julie to know that they had found her.

He made his move, under the tape and across the open ground, diving for Eaton's legs knocking the older man to the ground. Eaton and Dean rolled several times before stopping. Dean was surprised to feel the older man kick out and land a solid hit on Dean's side. Dean actually grinned, if the bastard wanted to fight, Dean would accommodate him.

Dean rose to his feet and waited on the balls of his feet, hands held loosely in front of him. A viscous smile snarling his mouth, Dean made a come and get it gesture. Eager to egg the older man on.

Eaton looked in surprise at the young man before him, his eyebrows rose even more at the sight of the taller man kneeling by the hole that held Eaton's latest victim. Eaton recognized the young man as one that had taken a room earlier tonight. Eaton didn't know who these kids were but he grimly knew that they would never leave this stretch of ground alive.

Eaton made the first move, as Dean intended. As the two men exchanged a round of blows, they separated surprise showing on Eaton's face at the ability the younger man was displaying. Eaton had learned to fight in the arm though and he never lost his killer instinct.

He moved in again and this time managed to bring the young man to his knees, as he grinned in anticipation though the younger man thrust forward suddenly grabbing the older man around the knees and knocking him down. Then the younger man was on him pounding away at Eaton for all he was worth. Eaton felt himself loose consciousness for a moment.

Sam looked up from the hole he had been staring at and saw a bloodied Dean standing over the bank manger. He shot Dean a questioning look and waited for the reply. Dean simply grinned and moved back towards the unconscious man. Sam nodded and set about finding a way to get Julie, who seemed to be out cold, out of the hole.

Dean looked down at Eaton, and felt such a hatred claw his throat that he felt like he was suffocating. Like there wasn't enough evil in the world, men like Eaton did nothing but cause more grief and pain. Dean wished him dead, but knew it wasn't for him to do. He was simply a soldier, in defense of his family he was willing to kill. However, he found he couldn't take a life otherwise, no this man would live to suffer, community soap, drifted through Dean's mind and he smiled slightly.

Eaton looked at the man standing above him and felt his moment's distraction, quickly lashing out with his feet. Eaton caught the man unawares, knocking him to the ground. As Eaton's hands closed around the young man's throat, he could swear he heard the man chuckle. Eaton put all his strength into crushing the throat in his hands.

Dean simply waited a moment, not struggling just waited. He waited another moment before thrusting up against the hands trying to choke him. He twisted his body and forced the movement, suddenly Dean was on top and it was his hands around Eaton's throat. Dean focused more and more pressure against the killer's throat.

Sam suddenly noticed Dean was choking the life out of the murder, and although Sam knew the world would be a better place without the murderer, he couldn't let Dean take the man's life. "Dean, Dean"

Dean heard Sammy calling to him and he eased up the pressure on the man throat. He rolled off of him and moved towards Sam. "Is she alive?" Dean asked staring down into the pit below.

Sam nodded and said "yeah, but it's deep. I'm thinking that I should go down and push her up to you. I just can't stand the thought of leaving her until the police get here."

Dean looked up "you called the police already? Shit, Sam we gotta roll." Dean looked around as if afraid at see the police sneaking up on them.

"No, actually Joe did he's meeting them in the parking lot. He'll lead them here." Sam said as he began to slide down the hole. He held his arms out to Dean and allowed Dean to carefully lower him the remaining few feet. He moved until he could feel the cold body of Julie, He quickly felt for a pulse. He felt relieved when he finally found one.

Julie felt warm arms wrapping around her and she panicked. She began fighting the arms trying to get away. Then she heard it a low voice telling her that she was safe. That he was going to get her out. Julie opened her eyes and looked into the deep brown eyes of a young man. She quickly recognized him from the hotel. She whispered a small thanks and her eyes slid closed again. She was finally safe.

"Julie, I'm going to pick you up, my brother's up top. You have to reach up and grab his arms Julie, do you understand me." Sam watched Julie nod. He began lifting her up, as he did she used the leverage against Sam to climb the earth walls slightly. She finally stood on his shoulders and reached a hand up to the light above her. A firm pair of hands wrapped themselves around her wrists and began pulling her up slowly.

Dean pulled the young woman back to the surface, as he did he quickly grabbed the bag, at his side pulling out an old blanket and wrapping it around the nearly naked young girl. He then turned towards the edge again and held his hands down for Sam. Sam had managed to scale part way up the wall on his own, when Dean's hands grabbed him and helped pull him out the rest of the way.

The two brothers sat at the edge of the hole for one more moment. Upon hearing the incoming sirens though, they quickly moved. Sam began picking up their gear and Dean used a length of rope from Eaton's bag to hog tie the older man. He was still out cold but Dean didn't want to risk him getting away. He then handed the flashlight Eaton had held to Julie instructing her to hold it straight up, as a beacon to the cops.

Sam bent quickly and looked at Julie, he smiled gently and said, "We have to go; we can't afford to be questioned by the police. Please, if you could don't tell them you know us. Please."

Julie looked up at the handsome man and readily agreed these two men had saved her life. As far as she was concerned, no one would ever know they had been here. "Thank you both."

Julie watched as they melted into the shadows, one moment they were there and the next they were gone. She wondered to herself if she would ever see them again.

888

Sam and Dean quickly made their way towards the Impala. They drove the distance back to the Owl. Sam quickly broke into Joe's room and left a simple message of thanks for the trucker. Dean headed for the office hoping to find Jill.

He moved into the room, the sun was beginning to rise and Dean was afraid that he was too late. Now that Eaton was captured he was sure that Jill would be able to move on. "Hey, Dean"

Dean turned slowly and saw her standing before him. She was pretty and the lost look was gone from her eyes. She raised a hand in salute to Dean and said, "You saved me Dean, Thank you." With that, the young girl simply faded.

Dean took a deep breath and headed for the Sam who was waiting in the Impala. As Dean slid behind the wheel, he and Sam sat in the parking lot and watched the sunrise. After a few moments Dean took a deep breath and said "What do you say Sam, we on for some chips and chicks. A little A.C. action."

Sam nodded and grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."