PIECES OF EIGHT
-Fit the Sixth-
At the end of the Rodeo Dean had to take a leak so he went to the back of the arena in search of the restrooms.
Suddenly there was a lot of commotion and people shouting frantically both in English and Spanish. Sam must have heard it too "Something happened?" he said, panting, as he came running towards Dean trying to catch up.
"I don't know. Sounds like it!"
Sam grabbed the first person that was rushing past them, asking what was going on.
"El torro…es el diablo!" the man yelled, his brown eyes felt with terror.
Dean and Sam once again exchanged an identical look and simultaneously started running towards the noise.
A young woman was in hysterics and a bull was going mental. 10 people were forcing the heaving beast back into its trailer where it started kicking the barriers, bellowing like it had the before mentioned devil in him. After Dean and Sam had managed to squeeze through the tight crowd of sweaty spectators, they could finally understand what had happened. A bloody body lay near the bull cage, hardly recognizable as a human being anymore.
"Good god!" Dean exhaled as he tried to look away and they both grimaced with disgust.
Amongst the crowd Sam suddenly spotted that Mexican girl from before that had smiled at him. Now she was in tears and comforted by an stocky older man and suddenly it clicked and Sam remembered where he had seen the man before.
He pulled Dean away with him to explain his conclusion.
"Dean, that man over there is the guy from the crew that was cleaning up the house 1088 a few days ago – 8 days ago to be precise!"
"He is?"
"Yes, and it looks like he knows the dead guy there. Look!"
"Okay, if you say so! Looks like we finally found our connection! Good job we came here, ey? Okay, I say we split. I find out how the bull could have gone all Tasmanian Devil and you ask this guy there what he knows about any objects– meet you back in half an hour at the car!"
Sam approached the situation courteously. Every time he was forced to do this kind of thing he wasn't really sure how to start these very awkward conversations.
"Aren't you Fernando Botas? I don't know if you remember me, we met a few days ago at the site of Mr Prusznowski's house" Sam said with a compassionate soft smile, whilst secretly cursing Jim's unpronounceable last name.
Fernando looked at Sam seriously distressed, yet he seemed to recognize Sam.
"Yes, I remember you. The insurance guy" Fernando said.
"What happened here?" Sam asked innocently.
The girl next to Fernando suddenly looked up at Sam recognizing the cute boy from the bleachers.
"It was the bull!" She exploded unexpectedly "He is cursed!" She cried out, a wild fury flashing up in her almond shaped eyes.
"Why would you say that?" Fernando was clearly surprised by this comment.
"My father bought the bull only a few days ago! Because of you, Fernando! He told me about the cursed ball! And now está muerto!" Suddenly she pushed Fernando away from her and apologetically glancing at Sam, stormed off to be on her own for a bit.
Sam was confused but noticed that Fernando tried to hide something.
"What does she mean?" Sam wondered.
"It's nothing. Just mexican superstition" he explained trying to avoid Sam's inquisitive look.
"Look Fernando, I need to be honest with you. We are not really with the mortgage company. We are investigating 6 unresolved deaths and this one increases the toll to 7 now! I need to know if you took anything from Jim Prusznowski's belongings. It's really important."
"Why would you ask me such things?"
"I cannot explain it all to you now, but you have to believe me that me and my brother are just trying to help and prevent this from happening again. Did you take anything and did you in any way pass it on to your dead friend here? Because whatever it is, it seems to kill people in very strange or unusual ways" Sam was desperate for an answer.
Fernando gave his theory a thought. After all he had indeed taken something and now a friend was dead, but he still wasn't sure if he should admit to it. Sam could see that he nearly had him convinced and wouldn't give up now.
"If you have an object in your possession you need to tell me. It could be very dangerous to you or whoever has it now!" he pleaded, hoping to appeal to his common sense.
"Dangerous how?"
"That's what we are trying to find out, but if I am right, it will strike again within the next 8 days!"
"Dude, can you not go faster!" Sam said studying the map of Mexico.
"Hey, ma' baby sure is fast, but she ain't no freakin'rocket ship! Don't we have at least another 8 days left before the next person dies?"
"Do we really want to wait that long?"
"No, not really" Dean grumbled and stepped on it, the engine roaring like an angry lion.
"So this Fernando guy admitted that he took this…what did he say it was, a Magic 8 Ball? To give it to his kids?"
"Yes, and somehow it kills people."
"How?"
"He said that his friend Hector had asked it a question a few days before he died."
"What the hell did he ask it?"
"If he should by a rodeo bull" Sam said leaning back with a sarcastic smirk.
"Man that's so freaking weird, even for us! I spoke to some clowns at the rodeo –" Sam cringed – "Yeah, good job we split! Anyways, they told me that this Hector guy had named the bull "8 Ball" and that he'd won every time, including today, then the damn thing suddenly turns on his new owner! Just like that! No one knows what set it off!"
"Something is very odd. Why would an 8 Ball kill people?"
"Think about it Sam! They all have asked it something and are basing an important decision on the answer. It seems to bring them unexpected fortune at first, but then -wham- they get the bill for it within 8 days!"
"Man, let's just hope that his 2 kids haven't asked it anything yet!"
In response to that Dean stepped on it some more, pushing the Impala to Warp 9.
Nogales, MX
Fernando's house in Nogales was situated at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.
It was dark and the house looked abandoned when Sam and Dean broke in.
"Dude, why didn't we get Fernando to just call and tell them we where coming?"
Dean looked at Sam as if he was crazy.
"Coz that would be much too easy, now wouldn't it?"
Sam pulled an annoyed face "I guess" he whispered, deciding to not question it any further, following Dean through the dark house.
"Okay, where would I be if I was a Magic 9 Ball?" Dean grumbled following the small Maglite through the room.
"Upstairs?" Sam suggested.
As they sneaked up the stairs they noticed a faint light seeping through under one of the doors.
"Kids!" Dean whispered giving Sam a knowing look.
"Hey wait! We can't just bust in there and scare them to death!" Sam muttered under his breath, holding Dean back with his outstretched arm.
"Why not?" Dean asked innocently but with an evil smirk woven into the look.
"Dude! You are not going to scare those kids!"
"You are right! I guess we are stuck, huh?"
"You and your stupid plan!" Sam sighed.
"Hey, I never said that I had one!"
"Which is even worse!"
"Manos arriba!" Mrs. Bota yelled from behind, the shotgun sharp and aimed at the Winchesters.
"Oh, what..?" Sam exhaled.
"Hijo de puta!" Dean sighed as he also put his hands up.
Sam frowned annoyed that they got caught and yet surprised about Dean's sudden language skills.
It took Dean several attempts trying to convince a temperamental Mrs. Bota that they weren't crazy house invaders. Eventually she called her husband back in Tucson, who confirmed the story.
"I don't understand why we couldn't get him to call in the first place" Sam hissed.
"Oh, where is the fun in that?" Dean asked, grinning like a baboon.
"Dude, when this is over, you are so dead" Sam protested, pointing back at Dean.
"That's true!" Dean grinned smugly, reminding Sam of the fact that he had sold his soul a while back "So you better get in line!"
"Oh shut up" Sam frowned not buying into the guilt trip anymore.
"Here!" Mrs. Bota said, shoving a black object against Dean's chest who was accepting it with a surprised "ooff" noise.
"Now get out! Get that thing as far away from us as you can!" she said in broken English, but with a serious passion backing up every word.
The Winchesters didn't need to be told twice.